Cursed (Wizardess Heart) DISCONTINUED
by Fonix Girl
Summary: Her life consisted of two choices: silence or suffering. She has a rare magic ability—in a town that hates magic. So she went silent—no words, less danger. But it was decided she was too dangerous, so she was sold into slavery—and kidnapped by a "mythical" being who wants her magic for his wicked plan. Then a strange girl, Selene Fonix, enters the story. (Elemental Spin-Off)
1. Prologue

This is a spin off story to the story Elemental Wizardess (Heart). It'll make a lot more sense if you read that story first. Cursed Wizardess (Heart) is a branch of what I call the Elemental Spiral, which incorporates all the stories in the Elemental universe. For a more detailed explanation, please visit my author page. :)

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Philyra = Fi-lie-rah

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" _No one dare_

 _Disturb the sound of_

 _silence_."

—Simon & Garfunkel

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Prologue

All her life she was nothing but a nobody. Keep silent. Make a sound and you're dead. Act as if you don't exist. Don't cause any trouble. One peep and you're in for it. We're warning you.

She was a curse. In a town that feared and hated strange, unnatural things, she was secret.

If the townspeople found out she had these strange, unexplainable powers, she was dead.

If she spoke, she was beaten.

It was her voice that had the curse. She quickly learned that if she didn't make a sound, she'd be mostly left alone.

Sure, the other kids would still taunt and terrorize her. Sure, the two little children who were her siblings would still be forbidden to go near her. Sure, she was ignored.

But if no one noticed her, if no one heard her, she was safer. She wouldn't be killed. Silence meant the hits and blows lessened. Meant less bruises and bumps.

Less pain.

Yes, in her world, Silence was salvation. It was either silence, death...or slavery.

She chose silence.


	2. Chapter 1

PetVet1023: Wow. You left a review within a few hours of me putting up the Prologue. I'm completely amazed. Like, Woah. And here's the next chapter for you. As for the compliment, I can't thank you enough. I just have to remind you that the only reason my writing is any good is because people, such as you, decide that you like it. Grazie!

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" _Pretty, pretty please, don't you ever ever feel_

 _Like you're less than, less than perfect._

 _Pretty pretty please, if you ever, ever feel_

 _like you're nothing..._

 _You are perfect to me._ "

—Pink

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Chapter 1

Philyra withheld a yelp as she hit the wall, sliding to the ground.

"What have we told you about _speaking_ , child?" Hissed her stepmother, Ilda. "How dare you endanger my children!"

Philyra trembled as she avoided Ilda's sharp look. All she had done was ask Rolfo to stop yanking her hair—but that hurt less than the retaliation she got for speaking when Rolfo ran off screaming that she had made a sound. The blow Ilda gave her would bruise. Badly.

After a while more of Ilda yelling at her, she was cast out the door, told to go to her room, and stay there the remainder of the day. No dinner. Again. Something or other would have made her lose it even if she had been silent. Ilda seemed to think that Philyra's very existence was worthy of punishment.

Philyra scrambled up the little ladder that lead to the storage loft above the house. Her "bedroom" was a little corner with a few old blankets. Other than that, the room was filled with boxes of the junk her stepmother kept buying, using most of the money her father worked to earn. Philyra's half-siblings, eight-year-old Rolfo and his sister, little five-year-old Sandra, had fine clothes, toys, and food. Ilda spared no expense when it came to her precious children, or herself. Philyra's merchant father made no where near enough to support the lavish lifestyle his wife and two younger children led—and didn't question where the money came from, mostly because he was so tired and worn out all the time. Philyra knew though. Nothing in this house escaped the notice of the little girl who seemed to be a mouse in another life, only quieter. Not the fact of the existence of her stepmother's secret and rich lover, not the fact that her father didn't know, didn't care, how she was treated.

Philyra's job in life was to keep silent and out of sight. She was strange, different, than the other children. Her stepmother had noticed early on, after marrying Philyra's father when Philyra was only four, that Philyra had something wrong with her. Philyra's voice did strange things when it made a sound—moving things without touching them, causing little rain showers _indoors_ , even shattering glass when she got upset.

And here in Liloorlie—an isolated town that reaped it's bounty from the sea—superstitions were strong, and a hatred of supernatural and out-of-the-ordinary things was plentiful. Any magic users who came to town were chased out. People feared anything that didn't fit into their ways of reason and logic. The sea itself was feared and respected because it contained a rich wealth of magic lore and caution. If a person was found to have magic, they were often lynched out of fear, and their families, if they weren't killed as well, were disgraced and left as beggars on streets where people avoided them.

Thus, Ilda deemed that the cause of Philyra's strangeness was her voice. Any sound from the now twelve-year-old girl-child resulted in severe punishment. If word got out that Philyra might have _magic_ , it would ruin Ilda's carefully built up status, and any futures her children might have. In fact, the only reason Ilda hadn't thrown Philyra out was because her father wouldn't allow it. He may not notice the bruises hidden beneath her clothes, but he would, at least, notice that she wasn't there.

Philyra huddled in her blanket, which was poor use in keeping out the coming winter chill, and tried not to cry. Tears did nothing. She knew that all too well.

She had nearly calmed herself down entirely when she heard the tip-toe tread of a certain little girl make its way across the loft, between the boxes. A few moments later, a blonde little girl with blue-green eyes came into view. Philyra withheld a sigh, and gave Sandra look that clearly said "you _know_ you're not supposed to be up here."

"Hey Phee." Sandra whispered, "Are you okay?" Sandra was the only one who really liked Philyra. She constantly snuck away to talk to and be with her older half-sister, unbeknownst to her mother and brother. She was a sweet child, if naive. But she was five. She was supposed to be innocent. Philyra hoped and prayed that she'd stay this way, kind to all and happy, and not end up like Ilda.

Philyra nodded, looking at her sister with her one visible, stormy grey eye. Her other eye was always hidden behind her hair—and with good reason. Sandra could interpret Philyra's expressions and gestures, and could talk almost easily with Philyra.

"I'm sorry about Rolfo. He was being a big fat meanie-pants." Sandra said, apologetically. Philyra shrugged before pointing at Sandra and shaking her head, telling her that it wasn't her fault. Sandra leaned over and hugged Philyra, who tentatively returned it. Then Sandra leaned back and pulled a little comb from her pocket, and looked hopefully at her sister. Sandra wasn't allowed to play with most of the kids her age, and she thought the ones she could, more often than not, were "meanies." Meaning, she often liked to do things like brush Philyra's hair and talk to her.

Philyra gave her an almost-but-not-quite-smile and shifted around, letting the blanket drop from her shoulders to her elbows. Sandra happily started to untangle Philyra's hair and chatter happily, albeit quietly, about her new pet bunny, Cotton. It had been her birthday present from her uncle on her mother's side. She adored the young, pure white rabbit. Philyra felt a rare moment of peace, listening to her sweet little sister talk. It wasn't often she felt this way, and she enjoyed it as best she could, since these moments were few and far between.

Not too much later, Sandra's nursemaid could be heard calling for the little girl. Sandra gave Philyra a hug and a kiss on the forehead and scrambled to leave before she was caught somewhere she shouldn't be.

Philyra inhaled deeply and settled to wait until night had fallen and the house was asleep. Only then would she dare nick something from the kitchen and sneak out to take a walk in the nearby woods. Most people thought it scary at night. She found it comforting. The rumors of monsters that came out once the sun set were nothing compared to most of the humans she knew. The humans were real.

…. …. ….

Nearly a year later, a few months to Philyra's fourteenth birthday, a bearer of awful news came to the family. Philyra's father had been killed in a landslide while he traveled back to the home. The whole family wept and mourned—except Philyra. She just stared blankly, wide-eyed. She was too scared to cry.

Because, now that her father was gone, who was to stop Ilda from throwing her out?

…. …. ….

"15 coppers."

"20."

"17."

"Deal." Ilda said, accepting the coins from the man. She then push Philyra towards him. He grabbed her and slapped the chains around her wrists before bending down and putting them around her ankles to. He then proceeded to push her into the pen with the other enslaved.

"Nice doing business with you, ma'am." The slaver said.

Ilda nodded and turned around, heading back to her now "evil"-free home. The only one who'd ask any questions was Sandra, and that only because she was a very curious child. But the burden Ilda had been forced to care for was gone, and wouldn't ever return to this town.

Philyra didn't even glance at her stepmother as she left, but a painful throbbing had started in her chest. For the first time in her life, she was completely, utterly, alone. At least until now her life had been mostly predictable. Now, she had no clue as to what awaited her.

And even though she kept her face carefully blank, her eyes stung with unshed tears.

…. …. ….

The pace of travel was hard. It was late spring, so cold wasn't as much of a problem, especially since most the the slaves didn't have more than rags bound around their feet, if they weren't barefoot. But it was still fast. The slavers pushed them to go as far as they could every day. Philyra's feet were quickly covered in blisters and her entire self ached.

But she wasn't as alone as she originally thought. That first night, when they stopped, Philyra was huddled by a tree at the edge of the female slaves' pen—they at least kept the genders separate—and hoping that no one would notice her. She had fleeting thoughts of escape, but she pushed them away. There was no way she'd get far in the chains that bound her feet and wrists together. One could only really shuffle along like this.

"So who was that woman who sold you yesterday? Your mother?" said a voice. Philyra looked up to see a woman several years older than her. The woman's head was shaved, like most of the slaves (they hadn't done Philyra yet, and she was determined to keep it that way, making especially sure not to be noticed—if any of the slavers saw both of her eyes…it'd be bad news), and she had clever blue eyes that sparkled, implying trouble to those who crossed her.

Philyra shook her head and curled up tighter. She'd seen this woman knock one of the male slaves out cold that day when he tried to...touch her.

"Oh, don't worry, I won't bite—or hit, for that matter." She grinned and sat in front of Philyra, "Here. Take it as a friendship offering." The woman pulled out half a loaf of bread, and tore it in half, offering the larger half to Philyra, who looked at her, the one visible eye wide.

Hesitantly, Philyra reached out and accepted it, taking an eager bite.

The woman's smile softened, "Whoever she was, I doubt she fed you well. You're just as skinny as I am, and I've been with this lot for nearly four years—I'm trouble, it seems, and no owner likes trouble. Actually, that's a half-truth. There are a few who like breaking us in like horses, but I always act meek and mild around them. I've got this down to an art, I do." She ripped a piece off of her own tough bread and popped it in her mouth, "'Sides, some of the slavers seem to have a soft spot for me at this point. I help the kids keep quiet, though you're the youngest one with us at the moment. From what I've seen, though, you're far quieter than any girl your age ought to be. Can you even speak at all?"

Philyra shook her head, touching her throat. Better to lie than reveal her dangerous voice.

"Ah, so that's it. Well, I'm Tigress. At least, that's what everyone calls me. Heck, I barely remember my birth name at this point. What's your name? Since you can't speak, can you write it in the dirt?" The full moon was so bright it didn't matter that they weren't near a torch.

Philyra had barely started to learn to read and write when her father had married Ilda. She hadn't gotten much further than her name before it happened. She barely remembered it. But she managed to trace out the letters in the dirt, her letters shakey. A

"Ooh, Philyra. That's a pretty one. Well, Philyra, it's nice to meet you." From that point on, Tigress decided to take care of the shy girl. When Philyra had given her a look that clearly asked why, Tigress replied that she had extremely good sight and had a good feeling about her new little friend. She didn't mind that Philyra didn't speak, and spoke enough to where Philyra wouldn't have had to anyway. She protected her from the slavers and the other slaves.

And for the next month as they traveled through the large forest that was the only pass between the mountains that isolated Philyra's birth town and the rest of the world, Philyra felt, despite the chains, safer, _freer_ , than she had in a long time.

…. …. ….

Philyra had just learned from Tigress, who'd been eavesdropping as she served the slavers their dinner, that they'd been reaching the next town in two days, and three days after that, they'd be in the city.

And the next night, as everyone slept and the watchmen drifted off, Tigress woke Philyra an hour or so after midnight. "Philyra, wake child, wake!" She hissed.

Philyra looked up at the woman, her friend, confused.

"Just come on!" Tigress was wiggling something in the keyhole of the ankle manacles. She smiled slightly as it opened. Philyra's eyes went wide. Tigress moved to the wrist ones. "You have to get out of here." Philyra saw that Tigress' chains were also off. Tigress noticed and smiled ruefully. "We're both leaving. But it's you who really needs to leave. Let's go!" The chains around Philyra's wrists feel. Tigress caught them and lowered them silently to the ground, the grabbed Philyra's hand and pulled her up. She began to run, Philyra stumbling behind her as fast as she could.

Endless minutes of running and Philyra was gasping and full of painful cramps, everywhere from her sides to her ankles. She wasn't sure how much further she could go when Tigress slowed down.

"I think we're far enough away to be able to take a break. A short one, at least." Tigress said. Philyra collapsed to the ground gasping and clutching her stomach, trying not to throw up. Tigress, breathing heavily, sat tenderly next to her. "I owe you an explanation. We're running away because I don't want you to end up in the miserable wreck of a life that mage-children always seem to end up living—as puppets for the rich."

Philyra looked up at the woman, wide-eyed and scared.

"Be patient. I've got some more things to explain. I've got a little magic, see—sight-magic. I can see things, glimpses of the future, other people's magic. My mother had it, too, though her gift was far stronger than mine. Mine's fair weak. But you, child, you have enough magic ability and power that it's glaringly bright even with my weak ability. That's why we left—one of the slavers is a magic-user, and he can sense magical power. He's sensed it in you. They'd use that to drive up your price when they sold you, and you'd be sold to some who abuses your power. I can't let that happen to another person, I can't." Tigress took a deep, shaky breath, "That's what happened to my little sister. She was only a year or so older than you, and they sold her. The person who bought her used her magic so much that it burned her up and killed her eventually. I don't want that happening to you, Philyra. No one deserves such a fate. _You_ don't deserve such a fate."

"My magic's a curse." Philyra whispered, making Tigress jump.

"You can speak!" she exclaimed, "I thought you said you couldn't...wait." Tigress went silent for a few moments, then spoke up, her voice gentle, "You came from Liloorlie. That town hates magic. If your magic was in your voice, of _course_ you'd keep it quiet. I bet that's why you were sold, too. Because of the magic. But, child, listen to me." Tigress took Philyra's face between her hands, "Magic isn't a curse. It is a tool. It is only as good or as bad as the one who uses it. If it's a curse, it's only because you think it is. It's a gift if you accept it and use it for good things. Do you know what they call those whose magic is wielded by their voice?" Philyra, still wide-eyed, shook her head slowly. "Spellsingers, child. And spellsingers are just as rare as those who have the Sight. When we get free, I'll take you some place where you can be taught to use your magic, and you'll learn that it is _not_ a curse. Understand?" Philyra, trembling, nodded hesitantly. Tigress hugged her, then pulled back, keeping her hands of Philyra's shoulders. "Good. Let's get going then, or we'll never get anywhere."

Then there was a distant snap. Tigress stiffened, "Someone's noticed our absence. Run!" Tigress pulled her up and started running. Footsteps began to near them, and Tigress cursed in a language Philyra didn't know. She pushed Philyra towards a tree, "Climb! Hurry!" She hoisted her up to the first branch and took off running as soon as Philyra had pulled herself up. Philyra climbed as high as she could. She saw, rather, heard several people run under the tree beneath her. She paused, going absolutely still. A minute or so later she heard a scream. Tigress! But Philyra was too petrified with fear to move.

Eventually footsteps made their way beneath the tree again, men cursing and frustrated that the "magic child" had disappeared—from what Philyra could tell, Tigress had told them that she had run the other direction and Tigress had drawn the men away from her, allowing her to escape. Philyra felt a tear slip down her cheek when she heard one of the men say that the "troublesome slave b***h" had "been taken care of" to the point where "she's no longer a problem." Tigress was dead, or nearly so. The only person who had ever truly cared about Philyra was gone. And it was her fault. It was the fault of her and her curse called "magic."

When the men were gone and her heart stopped pounding, Philyra carefully made her way down the tree and in the direction Tigress had run. When she saw a crumpled form, Philyra stopped caring about being careful and ran over to her, gently turning her over. The woman gasped weakly in pain.

She was still alive.

But only barely.

"Child," she said, cradled in Philyra's small arms, "Why are you still here? You need to leave, to run. They might come back."

"I...I couldn't l-leave you…" Philyra choked on a sob, her voice barely audible.

"You must." Tigress said as firmly as she could, "You must find a place where you can learn to use your magic and help people. Promise me."

"I...I c-can't…"

Tigress gingerly reached up her arm and cupped Philyra's face, "You need...to figure out...how to get over your...fear...of magic…" her voice was growing fainter, "You can...do it…I know you...can…" Tigress' hand fell as the light that was life faded from her eyes.

An anguished cry from a scarcely used throat echoed through the woods, full of pain. It caused the ground to shudder and the trees to shake. It sent tremors out from the vessel into the very earth.

As she cried over the body of the one person who had ever truly cared about her, she vowed to herself never to use her magic. It was because of her magic she'd been an outcast and a danger to her family, it was why she'd been sold into slavery, it was why Tigress felt that she had to free Philyra. It was what had caused Tigress death.

No. Philyra never wanted anything to do with her magic ever again.


	3. Chapter 2

The end of this chapter correspondence with the end of Chapter 52 in Elemental. From here on out, the chapter of Cursed that corresponds with Elemental will be in parenthesis after the chapter number.

And, as you guys may or may not have noticed, this story now has an actual cover image! The awesome picture was created by a good friend of mine, Daisy Pragnya! Thanks again Daisy! And when you said "Both the persons think Magic is a curse to them but each with a different story." in your review, you pretty much summed Yuki and Lyra up!

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" _It's been because betrayal in hearts,_

 _can in dreams tonight deceive us._

 _A million voices, silent screams,_

 _where hope is left so incomplete._ "

—Aurora

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Chapter 2—(Chapter 52)

Philyra wasn't sure how long she'd been sitting there holding Tigress and silently crying until the first rays of dawn started to peek over the horizon. She had to move on. There was no way for Philyra to do so, but she still wished that she could bury Tigress, give her a proper grave.

She kissed the forehead of the closest thing she'd ever had to a mother and gently set her down. With one last glance at Tigress, Philyra started walking.

And she walked. And walked. And walked. She walked until she had lost all feeling in her feet. She walked until her throat may as well have been ashes, it was so dry. She didn't even need to force herself to keep walking—she'd fallen into a numb sort of existence. She heard and saw everything around her, the birds, the sunlight streaming through the canopy of leaves...but she didn't process any of it. None of it mattered.

All that she needed to do was keep going.

…. …. ….

" **Why does Geysis always get the fun missions?** " whined a man to his companion as they walked through the woods, " **He gets to go after the princess and get all the glory, but I only get to track down a boring little nobody magic user!** "

" **Because you wouldn't be able to overpower said princess and bring her to the castle.** " the companion said, " **Besides Garrick, Geysis is really the only one who could take on the princess, even with most of her magic bound. Her magic is strong, and she's a fighter, from what I've heard. You're pretty low on the ranks after you failed to get the last kid without nearly killing him. Besides, you don't have enough patience to wait until she reached an ideal capture point.** "

" **Shut up!** " the first man snapped, " **If this is such a low rank job, why are you here?** "

" **Because I've got nothing better to do.** " the other man said nonchalantly. The first man went red in his blue face.

" **Well if you're so high and mighty, why don't you hurry up and find this human brat-child?** " demanded the first man.

" **That's your job. I'm just the escort.** " While he wouldn't admit it, and his stoic face didn't show it, but coming along on this boring job was worth it just to annoy this irritating water elemental.

The first man growled, and then went silent, searching out for the unique feel of human magic. " **She's nearby, and weak. Bah, this is too easy.** " He walked off.

The second man, a wind elemental, followed him, making sure to keep the bored expression on his face. And there, on the other side of some undergrowth, was a small human girl with dark hair and pale skin, collapsed on the ground. Her feet were in awful shape, and she seemed to be unconscious. _This_ is _too easy_ , thought the wind elemental.

" **Hurry up and grab her,** " he told the water elemental, " **We've got other things to do, you know.** "

…. …. ….

Philyra felt consciousness slowly coming back to her—mostly because the floor was hard, and, honestly, a little damp. At least it wasn't freezing. She could handle a hard and a little damp. She rubbed her eyes and opened them. There were copper rings connected by a thin copper chain around her ankles. These weren't as sharp as the ones the slavers used, thank goodness. They wouldn't cut up her skin as she tried to walk.

There were several other kids in the room. Huddled in groups or in corners by themselves, they were all quiet. Philyra could handle the quiet. But she couldn't handle the uncertainty of what was going to happen.

She huddled up against the nearest wall, hoping that something would happen to let her know what her new "normal" was going to be.

…. …. ….

She found out only days later.

One of the older kids, a boy, whispered to her what was going to happen. He was one of the ones who stayed off by himself in a corner.

"They're coming today." The voice was hardly more than a whisper.

Philyra looked up, confused. She had noticed the boy—who seemed to be about a year older than her—come and sit near her.

"I'm Jake. So what's your name?" he asked.

Her whispered reply was barely hearable.

"Philyra, huh? Pretty name. Probably the prettiest thing here." His laugh was bitter. "You're new, so you don't know the drill. They feed us enough to keep us alive. Barely. Then, once a week, they drain almost every drop of magic from us. That's right, every single one of us has magic, and apparently strong magic. Most of us were street rats to begin with, and even for us this is a step down. Some of them have families though. They've got a reason to try and live. Not the rest of us. But for some reason, we do. Don't ask me why. I don't know."

She said nothing in response.

"Not a talker, are you?"

She shook her head.

"Other than the current circumstance, why?"

"It's dangerous to talk to much." Her voice was extremely soft, and he could tell that it wasn't one that got much use.

"Dangerous? How?"

She looked away.

"Is that where your magic is?"

Nod.

"And you came from a place where magic is evil, didn't you?"

She looked up at him, eyes wide, asking "how?"

"I'm from a place like that. Terra. Magic technically doesn't exist. I was born in this world, but I went to Terra when I was seven. Then my mum died and I was out of the streets, not even able to use magic. I was picked up by my current captors about a year ago. I'm one of the longest stayers here. Anyone who would've been here longer is dead. And don't worry about your magic coming out, these chains are spelled with non-human magic. Our magic's bound until they drain it." Jake sighed, "They're going to have another draining today. I thought it would only be fair for you to know. It'll hurt, and it'll be hard, but it'll be easier if you don't fight it. Because if you fight it, they might kill you. Or you'll die from the strain of having the magic yanked from you. Either way, you'll have no hope."

"Why?" Philyra inhaled slowly.

"Because they're building stores of magic. These people are going to use it for some sort of magic rebellion. This isn't Terra. This isn't Myula. It's some other world. I've got my suspicions that out captors aren't human, or even fae." Jake looked at her, "Good luck."

And he went back to his own isolated corner.

The magic draining was horrible. It _hurt_ like nothing she had ever known. And she would have to do it once a week for who knows how long.

…. …. ….

Two weeks later, two new kids were in the dim dungeon-like room. And one kid was dead. Jake had stood up for one of the youngest kids, a boy only about five, and had gotten punished for it. And the only punishment the captors gave was death.

…. …. ….

" **Why are we doing this again?** " It was the one who had originally captured Philyra. He and the other elemental, the wind one, were down by the place where the human children were kept.

" **Because Garrick wants someone to serve the princess.** " _Stupid_ , the wind elemental mentally added. " **Just open the door and I'll pick one.** " It'd have to be a particularly quiet one, one who'd shown no signs of fighting. The princess had enough fight for an army, particularly since she was furious with her situation.

He scanned the room. None of the ones huddled in groups. No boys, either.

There. That one. The small girl he had helped pick up a while ago. She hadn't said a word, as far as anyone knew, and hadn't made one attempt to fight. He came to the conclusion that she was completely broken, and would work perfectly. "You, come over here. We've got a job for you." The other children curled up tighter as the girl went towards the door, expression blank.

…. …. ….

This tray was really heavy. And it was covered in high-quality food. For a moment Philyra had been scared that she was going to be used at some sort of toy—she wasn't stupid. She new what some men would do to girls who couldn't do anything in retaliation. But no, she was apparently supposed to serve some sort of princess. She wondered what princess would be horrible enough to be in this awful place.

Philyra was surprised, though she didn't show it, to walk into the room to find a girl only a few years older than her bound thoroughly to the bed she was on. She set the tray on the girl's lap and undid the bindings that held her wrists in place. Once that was done, she silently backed up to the corner.

The "princess" sighs, "Come here, girl. You look far more hungry than I am. Please." Philyra hesitated. "Come on, I don't bite those who don't deserve it. You've done nothing. The only one I'd bite at this point is that nasty Azuron creep who took me here, the jerk. And probably not even him. He probably tastes like lies and evil." The girl beckoned her closer. "Come on, take whatever you want. I insist."

Philyra decided she was too hungry to refuse, and carefully crept up, taking a roll and biting it. It was probably the best thing she's eaten since she was little.

"What's your name, sweetie?" The girl said gently, "I'm Selene."

Philyra mumbled something.

"Could you speak up a bit, hun?" Selene encouraged.

"Philyra…"

"That's a pretty name. I haven't heard it before. Are you like me, a prisoner here?" Selene handed her apple and sighed, "I wish I knew why in the heck he's doing this. If one knows their captor's motives, it can reveal methods of escape."

Philyra tensed, feeling a wave of fear wash over her, "He's...building an army."

Selene froze, my eyes wide at her quite sentence, "An...army? Do you know why?"

She shook her head.

"Are you part of his plan, willing or not?" Selene asked.

Philyra nodded.

"Are there others forced into this?"

Nod.

"Is there a connection between each of these people?"

Nod.

"What is it?" Selene's brows furrowed and she looked worried..

Philyra looked up at her again, a single tear slipping out of the corner of that one visible eye.

"Magic." she whispered, "Strong magic."

Philyra wasn't sure what language Selene was spoke in, but she could tell that she was cursing something very not-nice.


	4. Chapter 3

Corresponds with Chapter 53 in Elemental. This chapter is a little shorter than my usual chapters, but that's because I'm trying to keep it in time with Elemental, so forgive me. I'm also not going into as much detail as I do with Elemental, mostly because I put so much detail in Elemental. There will be more details specific to this story once they get to the academy, where this'll pick up. This story, until them, is mostly so we can keep paced with Elemental and occasionally hear Philyra's thoughts on things.

Daisy Pragnya: They're not trying to destroy the other dimensions, first and foremost. I can see how that would be a little confusing so I'll explain. The antagonists who are Elementals have little to no interest in any dimension except Elementum. This is because, like the general population of Elementals, they have no interest in humans. Besides, they can't survive for very long in Terra. Terra has no magic to sustain them, so it's practically useless. As for Myula, this isn't in the story but it probably will be at some point, Myula is the home of the Fae, given willingly to the Fae by the Elementals. Elementals like the Fae, and have no desire or reason to try and invade their home. As for the two Elementals who took Philyra last chapter, we really never seem again (at least, I'm pretty sure we won't). They were just henchman of Jerkwad and minor characters. They don't really have much importance.

TheFallenHer0: War doesn't happen. Yet. It may or may not in a future book. But as far as I know, it would have to be after Halfing if it happens at all. But the aftermath of Elemental is not going to be much fun, mostly for Selene. She's going to have a hard time through a lot of Halfling. But, as we all know, she ends up happy. Her tarot reading foretold it.

* * *

" _So I've got some mischief_

 _In my blood_

 _Can you blame me?_

 _The past is past_

 _Forgive, forget._

 _The truth is:_

 _You ain't seen nothing yet_."

—Sofia Carson

* * *

Chapter 3—(Chapter 53)

Philyra continued to be the server/attendant of Selene. As it turned out, Selene had been kidnapped, too. But unlike Philyra and the other kids, she was full of life and spirit. She was convinced that they could escape.

And she talked more than anyone Philyra had ever known. It wasn't mindless chatter, though. She talked about things that were personal and important to her. Philyra knew that Selene was trying to gain her trust by revealing things about herself—as well as keep herself together.

Selene had seven older half-brothers. Three had girlfriends, another three were married, and one her sister-in-laws was going to have a baby soon. She had six nephews, currently. Most of her family lived in Terra, herself included. She was going to a school for magic in Gedonelune.

She had gone home when her brother was killed in an "accident." One most believed was just that. But Selene knew better.

"It was to lure me out of safe places. They killed Jonny to get to me." Selene could barely say it without choking up. Jonny had been her oldest brother. The one that had raised her. He was her father figure. "They were pulling me from the safety of the school, from my home. And killed him to do it."

She talked about her school, and her friends. Selene painted pictures of various people, particularly four of them. An awkward, studying-obsessed boy named Elias. A lazy slacker who was good to joke around with and smarter than he liked to let on, named Luca. Elias' older brother, Klaus, who was the school prefect and scared most people—but Selene found joy in annoying him. Philyra could tell that Selene was in love with this Klaus, but didn't realize it.

But the one that interested Philyra most, and one that Selene was happy to tell her about, was a boy named Yukiya Reizen. He was like her, a bit. Quiet, withdrawn, ostracized from most of the others because of rumors.

And, he hated his magic.

At least, until Selene spent a few months doing her best to convince him otherwise. "But he still has trouble convincing himself. He's had a hard past couple of years. Not as bad as you,"—Selene was very convincing, and eventually Philyra had given in and told her life story—"but still not all that fun." Selene wouldn't tell her anything more than that, saying that they weren't her secrets to share. And that actually made Philyra respect the older girl more.

In short, she had never met someone like Selene, and she found that she really liked the girl. She had never liked someone so much, with one exception.

Tigress. But Philyra kept Tigress to herself, and only referred to her vaguely when absolutely necessary.

…. …. ….

"Princess, I've got something to show you!" The leader of the bad guys, who Selene had taken to referring to as "Jerkwad," came into the room. For some reason, the door was never locked, and was left open. Jerkwad had been coming in almost daily—completely ignoring Philyra, who hid in a corner whenever he was in the room—trying to convince Selene to accept his offer to marry him. This confused Philyra. Selene, while Jerkwad was gone, explained it.

He wanted a trophy wife, one that would do whatever he'd say. Who'd be his killing weapon. And the half-elemental Selene (who hadn't known a thing about it until after she'd been kidnapped), with her immense power, was perfect for the job.

And Selene vehemently refused each and every time. "I'd rather just kill you and get back to my life, thank you." All the while, she had a completely sarcastic grin.

That was the first time he hit her. "You heathen child! You _will_ give in!"

But Selene only laughed and turned her head, "Go ahead and hit the other. It's not going to change my mind." With that comment, the elemental man stormed out of the room. "Like a child throwing a temper tantrum. I'd bet that he wasn't told 'No' too often growing up." And she laughed. _Laughed_. This girl is crazy, Philyra thought.

She hurried over to the bound girl, "Are you okay?" Her voice, as ever, was no more than a whisper. The older girl's cheek was slightly tinted pink.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It takes a lot more than that to actually hurt me." She laughed, "Seriously, my little nephew Daren could slap harder than that, and he's one of the sweetest, most harmless creatures ever to live."

It was hard to accept that this oh-so-human girl wasn't actually human. Only half-human.

…. …. ….

"Clean her up." ordered on of the guards, tossing a bag of things at Philyra. Selene had been thrown back into the room, and was crumpled on the floor. They had taken out the bed a couple of days ago. She was covered in painful-looking cuts and bruise shadows that looked like they were going to hurt like hell. And the once-silver magic-binding bands around her ankles and wrists were now gold. Philyra guessed that they were stronger than the last ones. They were also magically chained to the floor around the mat that had replaced the bed, restricting her movement.

The guards left and Philyra opened the bag to find a bunch of first-aid type things, from a rubbing-alcohol-like substance to bandages. She did her best to tend to the unconscious girl.

Eventually Selene came back to the world of the awake. She sucked in a sharp breath as Philyra continued to dab the liquid on various cuts.

She laughed weakly, "I kind of screwed that up." Selene had tricked Jerkwad into showing her where he was keeping the children, and Philyra guessed that the girl had lost her temper upon seeing them.

"You need to be more careful, Selene." Philyra scolded. As much as she liked Selene, the girl was to rebellious for her own good and was going to get herself killed.

"I know. I shouldn't have gone into rage mode. I didn't try to, honest...but seeing those poor kids...something just snapped, and I couldn't control this overwhelming fury that just boiled over." She sighed, careful not to jostle her ribs. She was leaning sideways against the wall, her better shoulder against it as Philyra tended her back, one of the worst areas on her body. She winced as Philyra carefully cleaned out a particularly deep scratch. "Besides, it's not like they'll kill me after all the trouble they took to get me here." Philyra had never heard the girl sound so bitter.

There was silence for a few moments, and Philyra pretended not to notice the tear that slide down Selene's grimy cheek. Neither of them had been able to clean themselves in a long while.

"L-lyra…" She whimpered, "I want to go home. I want Klaus to come get me and take me home."

Philyra wanted to smile at the nickname that Selene had given her a while ago, but couldn't bring herself to do it. Instead, she covered Selene's hand with her own and gave it a gentle squeeze, trying to comfort her.

Selene took as deep a breath as she could manage. "And you know what, if we—no, _when_ we—get out of here, you have a home with me. You'll always have a home with me." She carefully put her less hurting arm around the smaller girl. "You'll _always_ have a home with me." She repeated firmly.

She was silent for another long while.

"Hey Lyra, have I told you about the time I stole Elias' textbooks and made him go on a hunt for them?"


	5. Chapter 4

TheFallenHer0: I liked Tigress, too. She was character who managed to come in so powerfully, even though she was only present for a short time. I might put something in about her later, in a different story, but it's unlikely. I might, though, I might. I liked her character.

* * *

Note: When words look like **this** and it means that the speech is in Element, a language that Philyra doesn't know.

* * *

" _I need a hero._

 _I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light._

 _He's gotta be sure,_

 _and it's gotta be soon._ "

—Bonnie Tyler

* * *

Chapter 4—(Chapter 55)

Philyra woke the next day to a yelp from Selene. " **Dude, there are other ways of waking people up, you moronic barbarian!** " While Philyra couldn't tell what she was saying, but she could tell that Selene was irritated.

" **You will shut your mouth and do as your told.** " responded the guard who had kicked Selene awake. Philyra made sure she was huddled in a corner, making herself as unnoticeable as possible. She wasn't Selene. She was terrified and didn't want to get hurt.

Selene snorted, " **Since when, in my time here, have I been very cooperative?** "

" **Oh, princess, you'll cooperate eventually, whether you want to or not.** " Cooed a voice—Jerkwad's—from the open doorway. " **Now, you've got to get dressed. We've got a meeting to attend, princess, and you need to be a little dolled up. One of my partners needs assurance that I've indeed done my end of the deal. Have it** "—he gestured to Philyra, who silently whimpered—" **help you.** "

" **How am I supposed to change when I'm, you know, strapped to the floor?** " Selene sneered, jangling the chains that kept her in place.

" **Oh, princess, come now, you're too pretty to be making such an ugly face.** " The creep smiled, then snapped his fingers. The minion who had woken her up came over and inserted a key into a shackle, and it soon fell away from the cuff. He did it with the other three, and soon, Selene wasn't connected to the floor anymore—but still had those magic-preventing manacles encasing her wrists and ankles. " **Oh, and would you clean her too?** " Selene gasped as she was suddenly enveloped in water. When it disappeared, she was clean and shivering. The elemental who had done it had icy blue hair, and Philyra would guess he was a water-ice elemental.

" **I'm going to shut the door, but there will be guards waiting outside for you.** " Jerkwad said, then left, closing the door behind him. Philyra didn't hear the click of a lock. They locked the kids, the docile, hopeless kids, but not the rebellious princess who fought everything they did? It just didn't make sense..

Philyra crawled over to the bag before lugging it over towards Selene. She waved the younger girl away and unzipped it herself. Inside was a piece of pink clothing that was so pale that it was nearly white. She pulled it out. It was a fancy dress, with dark pink roses embroidered at the ends of the skirt and sleeves and neckline, along with the bodice.

"I never did like roses." Selene muttered. "Gosh, this thing is ugly."

Philyra agreed. It was gaudy and reminded her of her stepmother.

"At least I won't have to associate anything I like with this point in my life. I far prefer lilies. Simple, and yet beautiful for it." Selene admitted. She convinced Philyra to help her tear off the roses on the bottom of the dress and the ends of the sleeves. It wasn't an easy task. It also took a while to help get Selene into the dress. But they managed it, after lots of winces on Selene's part. She still had all her injuries from the previous day.

The opened the door, Selene leaning on Philyra, who was helping her walk. The guards surrounded them, leading them to wherever they were going. Then Selene started to lean a little less on Philyra, and surprised everything where when she snatched the belt knife of the guard closest to her And before anyone could react, she gripped her long hair in one hand and quickly slashed it off with the knife, cutting it to where it was uneven and choppy. The guards all stopped and she casually slipped the knife back in it's scabbard, then threw the locks of hair behind her. " **Sorry. It was getting annoying. We can proceed now.** " She leaned back on Lyra and they started forward. The shocked guards hurried to catch up and surround them again.

When they got to the door, Selene whispered in Philyra's ear, "Go hide, near, but not to close. Conceal yourself. This might get nasty." Philyra nodded slightly and Selene took all of her weight off the shorter girl, standing up straight. Philyra scampered off to a hidden corner that allowed her a good view of the proceedings.

Selene walked bold, firmly, up to Jerkwad and another elemental. While she didn't show it on her face, Philyra knew she must be hurting. A lot.

The two turned towards Selene. " **Ah, princess, you look lovely. It's a pity what you've done to the dress and your hair, though.** " Philyra couldn't understand what was being said, but she managed to get the gist of the conversation from the body language. Being silent taught you how to do a lot of things.

" **I'd rather not trip and fall on my face.** " Selene said loftily, " **That wouldn't be too graceful, now would it? As for my hair,** "—she shrugged—" **it was getting annoying. Not that it's any of your business, Jerkwad.** "

" **Jerkwad?** " the new elemental said, sounding amused.

" **The two of us, ah, have an interesting relationship.** " Jerkwad said.

" **If by interesting, you mean that you're an evil piece of scum that I utterly** _ **loathe**_ **with all my heart, mind, and soul.** " Selene replied cheerily, " **I'd be perfectly happy if you just went and slit your wrists. Or your throat. Or anywhere that'd cause you to die a** _ **slow, excruciating**_ **death.** "

" **She's certainly lively.** " The smile on the newcomer made it seem like he was condescending as he looked Selene up and down. Philyra shivered. That was more than just a simple look. " **She also looks just like her grandmother, down to the eyes!** "

" **I've decided something,** " Selene announced, " **He's Jerkwad, but you,** "—pointing to the newer person—" **you're Dumb Diablo. Diablo, since you're such a moron you probably don't know what it means, translates to 'devil'.** " Selene gave him a (clearly fake) winning smile.

" **Of course she's lively,** " Jerkwad continued as if she had never spoken, " **She takes after the fire side of her heritage. Which is why she just needs to be tamed a bit. Fire is very easily managed after you show it who's in charge.** "

" **I'm not just fire—I'm pure, stubborn 21st century woman.** " I retorted, " **fire can't compare to those whom it bare. Hey! I just made that up!** " She giggled like she was insane. Philyra then new that she was starting Plan C. It was technically Plan B, Selene said, but she was going to call it Plan C, as in 'Plan Crazy'. Selene was going to pretend like Jerkwad had broken her mentally to the point to where she was no longer of use in their plan. Selene was clever, moreso than most people would realize.

" **You know what I also made up?** " Selene widened her eyes comically, " **Ring around the rosies,** "—she pointed at some of the roses left on her dress—" **pockets full of dummies,** "—she pointed to Jerkwad and the other elemental—" **Ashes! Ashes! I'll burn you all** _ **doooooown**_ **!** " She began to cackle, sounding like a mad woman as she began spinning in circles like she was drunk. The guards inched away from her. Clearly something in her tone unnerved them. Philyra _knew_ it was fake…it still freaked her out.

" **Oo! Oo! How about this? Can you answer this?** " She looked at them, all eager, leaning forward and on her tippy toes. " **No legs have I to dance, no lungs have I to breathe, no life have I to live or die and yet I do all three! What am I? What** _ **am**_ **I?** " her voice was just ever-so-slightly higher pitched than it was before. " **You'll** _ **never ever**_ **get it! Neither of the two answers! Never! Never!** _ **Neeee-ver!**_ " She taunted, shriek-laughing again.

" **Garrick,** " The new elemental gave Jerkwad a disapproving look, " **Don't tell me you've broken her mind** _ **that**_ **much. Those bruises I can see on her arms don't look like you've been treating her all that well.** "

" **You're not even** _ **trying**_ **to answer it!** " Selene whined. They ignored her.

" **She's perfectly fine. I'm pretty sure she's just pretending. She's been as stubborn as her grandfather up until now.** " Jerkwad responded. He was good at hiding it, but Philyra could tell he was getting nervous.

" **What am I? What am I!?** " Selene was practically screaming at this point, " **WHAT AM I?!** "

The new guy gave Jerkwad a glare, and then disappeared. Jerkwad looked murderous, and marched over to Selene, and was about to grab her arm when a large crashing _BOOM!_ sound shook the room, coming from just outside. The guards hurried to the large front doors of the room and they crashed open, a few other guards flying into the room.

A man—a clearly human man whom Philyra identified, from Selene's detailed descriptions, as Klaus Goldstein—worn and a big ragged, was fighting off several of the remaining guards from outside. But then the ones from the room joined their comrades, quickly overpowering the already tired man.

Selene screamed his name as the sharp snap of wood echoed through the room.


	6. Chapter 5

TheFallenHer0: She does. She's a good actor. And about the mistake...oopsie. You see, with many of the chapters of Cursed, I copy over dialogue from Elemental (it has to match, you know?), and change the tense. I guess I just didn't catch it while editing. Sorry 'bout that!

* * *

When a word looks like _this_ , for the time being, it means that it's spoken in English. There's really only one word, but it's needed to work.

* * *

" _When you sacrifice for someone else,_

 _and you put them before yourself,_

 _and you don't think about what you're giving up,_

 _that's love._ "

—Matt Kennon

* * *

Chapter 5—(Chapter 56)

Selene was fighting Jerkward. She was struggling past where most would have given up, yanking on the person holding her, screaming in high, shrieking tones at them to let Klaus go, to let him leave. She cared more about Klaus getting away than she did her own self.

Philyra wondered what it'd be like to love someone so much that nothing but their safety and happiness mattered to you. Where they were more important to you that you were. In a way, she envied the girl despite the position she was currently in.

Selene, realizing the screaming was futile, stopped. " **Please! Let him go!** " She begged, her voice cracking, " **He's done nothing wrong!** "

" **And why should I? He's broken into my house, immobilised several of my men, and destroyed a good deal of my possessions. I've had people executed for less.** " Jerkwad eyes kept scanning Selene's body. At this point, Philyra could tell it was with nothing more than lust, for power and for...dirtier things. " **Give me a reason to let him go.** "

She hesitated and looked down. " **I–I'll do…anything…** " she whispered.

His eyebrows raised, and his lips curled into a smirk. " **Anything, you say? So you'll agree to become my weapon?** "

"NO!" Klaus roared, his struggling renewing, "Selene, don't! I promised your brothers—myself!—I'd get you out of here! It doesn't matter if I die! _You_ must get out of here!"

She glanced at Klaus, on the brink of tears and biting her lip, "It does. It matters. I'm sorry, Klaus, but I can't let you die. I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I'm sorry for being selfish, but I can't. Tell my family and friends that I love them all, will you?" She almost sounded like she had given up. She _had_ given up.

Philyra was astounded, both at Selene's words and her break. So this is what it took to break the rebel, to tame the fire, to suffocate it into submission. Threaten someone she loved. No wonder Jerkwad killing her oldest brother had lured her out so easily. Philyra was jealous that someone could love so much. She wished that someone would love _her_ that much, and teach her how to love like that.

Jerkwad flicked his hand in Klaus' direction, using his magic to prevent Klaus from speaking further. He then pulled Selene, his left arm wrapping itself around her waist, the other winding itself in her hair and yanking her head back. She gritted her teeth, trying not to cry out in pain. " **I think I'll make him watch for a while. After all, he must be punished somehow. What better way then watching his beloved be taken before his eyes? For he must love you a great deal to work so hard to recover you. This'll be fun—especially when there's** _ **nothing**_ **he can do about it.** " The man's laugh was nothing but evil.

Klaus thrashed even more as the hand Jerkwad had in Selene's short hair yanked again. A single tear slide down Selene's cheek, her eyelids screwed shut and biting her lip so hard blood began to slowly drip from it, trailing down her chin from the side. Her fisted hands trembled.

She was scared.

And that terrified Philyra more than she originally realized.

Philyra watched as Klaus' face twisted in concentration,and watched as something flew out of his boot and towards Selene like an arrow. "Selene! _Catch_!" he cried, sounding like he was choking the words out.

Selene's eyes snapped open and widened as they saw the object—it was a wand. Selene's wand, Philyra guess, seeing as how it was metallic. But as soon Selene reached out for it, her hands were grabbed and the wand was caught by another hand.

He laughed, clutching Selene to him with one arm around her throat, making Selene flinch involuntarily as his breath was in her ear. " **Clever, mortal. Real clever. But not clever enough, I'm afraid. I learned how to sense Cadeyrn's unique magical creations a while back.** " His ankle hooked with hers and the arm whose hand had been holding her hands released them and moved to where the hand of the arm around her neck was. She pulled at the arm that was choking her with what feeble strength she had left after her adrenaline ran out and so many weeks of mistreatment and abuse.

The way her held her wand was like he was going to…he was going to snap it. " **I guess I'm just going to have to get rid of this, so it won't get in my way, won't I?** " At this point, Selene's face was turning blue, her eyes bulging.

Then he snapped the wand.

A hot blast went through the room—so hot even Philyra in her hiding spot nearly passed out from it—making Jerkwad slam into the wall ten feet behind him, and knocking every other being in the room but on off their feet. A fiery tornado was rapidly spinning where Selene had and a roar far too loud and savage to be human literally shook the room, causing stone dust to flutter down from the ceiling.

A deep cackle rang through the room, making Philyra jump. It was terrifying, like some sort of monster. "Man, it's been a long time since I've had control! Nearly seventeen years! I'd thank you, Jerkwad, if I didn't absolutely _loath_ you so much." The storm of fire dissipated, leaving something who looked like Selene, but covered in fine bronze scales, with hair and slitted serpentine eyes to match. Manacles that had once bound the wrists and ankles had melted to glowing puddles at it's feet. The voice was deeper than Selene's and the manner in which it stood could be likened unto a snake ready to strike. "Now I'll get to make you pay! How dare you put us through that?! You'll regret being born!" Fire began to burn along the creature, but it didn't seem to notice. "So I'm taking it you'll help, Celeste? Good. All the more fun, I say!" It flicked it's hand, flinging the elemental to the side with an invisible force. It began to toy with it's once-captor, flinging it around like a rag doll and taking slow steps toward the him, beginning shooting white hot flames in his direction, making him scream as they lightly brushed against any exposed limb.

Philyra stared, eyes wide, unable to move due to shock and fear. What was happening? What had happened to Selene?

The guards who had been holding Klaus scrambled up and rushed over, extending their hands. Air swirled around…Selene?…making the flames on it dim for a moment before they began growing stronger. It stopped its attacks on the man who had kept it prisoner and turned to face the men. "The little 'remove the oxygen, kill the flame' trick won't affect me. I'm not like the other fire types, fools. I've got wind too…do you know what the answers to that riddle were? My elements, wind and fire!" that laugh scared Philyra. It sounded too…cruel and angry to be Selene. Selene could never sound like that. She couldn't.

It flicked her hand at each guard, one by one, sending them flying, hitting the walls or floor, being knocked unconscious. It turned back to the man to had hurt her so. "Now, back to our little _game!_ " It howled with bitter laughter, beginning again to shoot little streams of white-hot flames at the now-screaming elemental.

"Stop!" cried Klaus, "Selene, stop! Don't lower yourself to his level!"

At the sound of her buddy's voice it lowered her hand and sighed, "You're right. She would be _really_ annoyed if I killed someone. I'll settle for knocking him out." The voice was no longer so masculine, now sounding like a woman's weary tone. But still not Selene. Like an older Selene. She spun and slammed the heel of her right foot into the side of the elemental's skull, making his eyes roll back and knocking him out cold.

Her hair went rapidly from being bronze to seeming to be made of flames, gentle, flickering ones—the scales faded, leaving pale golden skin, with hints of rapidly fading bruises and quickly healing cuts where shackles once were, leaving hairline scars that were bright red. The flames of her hair calmed a bit as she turned around and began walking towards Klaus. She grabbed the two pieces of what was once a silvery wand with golden veins. Her expression completely different, the savage, sadistic look that had earlier twisted the features of the reptilian being it had been was gone, replaced with wise eyes that an unusually golden color. She looked worried, tired. Philyra was confused, and trying to work up the courage to move. The womanly creature knelt down by Klaus, and he eyed her warily. "Are you okay? You've no need to be scared of me." She whispers, looking down. "Angel is quiet, for now."

"You healed fast." He remarked, unsure of what to say, "And what about all the guards?"

"The elements always do. I guess you'll be wanting an explanation. I'll give it to you if you'll let me heal any injuries you have…as for the guards, they won't be waking up for a while. SP, that earl person, has already left to contact the Paladin. They'll be here before morning, long before Jerkwad and any of his minions awake. What parts of you are wounded?"

"Other than my ankle, only a few bumps and bruises. Nothing I can't fix." Klaus said.

She looked him in the eyes, "Not without a wand. Which you don't have. And which none of the people here use. Let me help. I'll only do it if you let me, though." She looked worried, her hair flickering weakly.

"Fine. But I'll hold you to your promise of an explanation."

She smiled ever so softly, "Of course." She pressed a finger to the tip of Klaus' nose, and every bruise and cut and his twisted ankle healed themselves. "There. I just sped up the natural healing process. That's what the pure healing magic of a true elemental form does naturally, but I'm able to let it filter into other creatures who aren't elementals, mostly humans."

"So you know you're only half human, then." He said, sounding unsure as she sat a few feet in front of him, curling her knees into her chest. Klaus knew she was only half-human? Philyra thought. How does he know that?

"I do. Selene's the one who didn't until recently. She didn't know I was sealed in her, or that Angel was. She guessed at my presence, but Angel was buried a bit too deep to ever show himself. He's sleeping now. He's as tired as the rest of us. That fire storm was a huge burst of energy that had been pent up from being confined by those restraints, and most of the magical energy we had is used up. Do you know about how elementals have three forms then?" They do? That was news to Philyra.

He nodded, "Yeah, the human, the element, and the animal. I'm guessing you're the element, from your hair?"

She nodded, confirming his answer. "Since I'm half human, I don't completely transform, but retain some sort of human form. I'm the elemental, while the Selene you know is the human, and she's the one usually in control. Angel, what you saw when the wand was snapped, was the animal side. He's a dragon of sorts."

"Then are you still Selene when you're like this?"

"Well…how do I put this…there are two different sides to a coin, correct? Let's put it this way. Each side has a different picture, right? It's still the same coin, whether one side be face up or the other. I'm like that. I'm the tails to the heads of the girl you've grown to know. It's like…she's Selene and I'm Celeste. It's still our name, but they're different parts of our name. Just call me Celeste if it makes it easier. I am literally the more fiery one of us." Her weak attempt at a joke made Klaus smile ever so slightly. Philyra just shook her head, this isn't the time to be cracking jokes. Or maybe it was the perfect time. "Angel, though, is a bit different. He's almost like a protector—a 'Guardian Angel' or sorts, which is why I gave him that name. He's like the hidden edge of the coin. And just as difficult. Our father, whoever he was, knew that for half human elementals the elemental and animal sides can be overpowering. A halfling of our sort isn't as...as smoothly combined as a full elemental. Instead of the three forms being seamlessly melded together as one consciousness, they are three separate consciousness that share the same existence. The reason for this is in the fact that we are half human—in a full elemental, each side is equal, in a human halfling, they are not. Humans tend to be stubborn that way."

"I was told by Sienna—she's a fire fairy who's been watching over you for the past few months on orders from your father, and she and Blayze helped me get here—that you can't be resealed unless you consent this time. Are you going to?" He asked. He wanted to move closer to her, but he didn't know if that was wise.

"No." She responded gently. "But I will cooperate with her. It's better if we coexist. It'll make it easier for the both of us. If I was entirely fire, I'd probably refuse out of sheer stubbornness. But I'm tempered with wind, so I'm a bit more reasonable. I don't want to be resealed, but I don't want to cause trouble. Does this all make sense?" She bit her lip at the end of the last sentence. "Angel, though, will need to be sealed again. Until Selene and I can work to 'tame' him in a way. With the way he is, he's not what you consider safe in everyday life. He will seek to eliminate and destroy anything he perceives as a threat. Eventually we'll be able to make him understand what is and isn't a real threat—he works off more of instinct than anything, being more animalistic in mindset."

"Then she'll be different than she was before?" Klaus asked, not meeting her eyes.

How could she _not_ be different than she was before? Philyra wanted to tell him. How could she not be changed, at least in her mind?


	7. Chapter 6

TheFallenHer0: She is. She really is. Selene is going to be really protective of her in the future, particularly at the academy. She's also going to try (and succeed) setting Philyra and Yukiya up, because we all know Selene can be meddlesome. And it did, jump up five levels, that is. The straw that broke the camel's back, if you will. Boom. And I love the combined name you came up with for the three of them. "Selestegel" (it's read, I believe, "celestial"). It's really cool, and it combines them in order, too! And you're completely correct about how things are going to get interesting.

* * *

" _You've got a big heart._

 _The way you see the world_

 _it got you this far._

 _You might have some bruises_

 _and a few scars,_

 _but you know you're gonna be okay._

 _Even though you're scared,_

 _you're stronger than you know._ "

—Andrew McMahon

* * *

Chapter 6—(Chapter 57)

"Then she'll be different than she was before?" Klaus asked, not meeting Selene's eyes.

"She may be a little 'stranger' than normal because the two of us will be able to talk, but it's nothing really new. She often talked to herself to begin with. Perhaps it was because somewhere in the subconscious she knew someone was listening, which I was, in a way. Being under the seal really only muffled things." Celeste laughs softly, exhaustion clearly able to be heard in her voice. "And because we're half human, I look older when I'm in control because phoenixes, elementals, whatever you want to call them, reach adulthood faster and stay there far longer. I am also unable to fully transform into my element because of the amount of human in me. I will be as I am now, though hopefully not so weak in the future. Angel, as you saw, is the most dramatic in his transformation, though he cannot turn fully into a dragon anymore than I can into my element." She was swaying, and Philyra felt a sudden burst of a foreign emotion—concern—and ran up to Selene-but-Celeste.

"Are you okay?" she whispered.

Celeste smiled, her eyelids starting to flutter, "Oh yeah, this is Philyra…she's my new sister, and is kinda shy and such...she's coming with me...not sorry..." She started falling asleep sitting there.

Klaus got up and went over, picking her up. Philyra shyly backed away, seeing his intentions. "I'll take her." He said kindly, "We need to go find Sienna and Blayze, so we can all go back to Myula."

"Thank you…" Celeste whispered a sigh, a content little sound, "Thank you for saving me. It'll be Selene in control once we wake up, so don't worry. I...I'll take care of...Angel...good ni-ight…" she muttered as she yawned again.

"Sleep tight." Klaus said quietly, but Celeste was already asleep. She almost seemed to shrink a little, like she was growing younger. Philyra noticed that Klaus held her a little tighter. "Come on, Miss Philyra, let's go find the fairy and the familiar. You're safe now."

Philyra nodded. This was Klaus, Selene's buddy. She could trust Selene, and Selene trusted Klaus. Therefore, she could trust Klaus, too.

He led her, still carrying Selene, and eventually they found a fire fairy, and a fire bird type thing. The bird was Blayze, Selene's familiar who'd been with her for longer than she could remember. The fairy introduced herself as Sienna, and magicked Philyra's chains off. Blayze used his own magic, and they left that horrible place.

And put them in front of a small castle, grand and empty, with no other buildings in site.

Philyra glanced at Klaus, and saw when a light of recognition turned on in his eyes, "I've only seen in it pictures, but I'm sure that this is the castle of Aless, a famous wizardess. She was originally from a small northern village, not even knowing about her magical talents throughout her childhood. But a near accident awakened her powers, revealing her abilities. She grew up to be a famed wizardess of immense power. But as she went on, she preferred to keep to herself, something which lead her to build herself a castle away from people...in a single evening, no less. That was hundreds of years ago, but the castle still remains, unchanged. No one has been able to enter it, either, for strong magic holds it yet."

"That's amazing…she was amazing...you must show me this book you read..." Philyra looked over to see Selene yawning, "I feel a bit better now, Klaus. I'm sorry for troubling you so much…you can probably put me down, now…" Philyra was pretty sure the girl was blushing. Regardless, Klaus did set her down, and she leaned against Philyra. Philyra knew better. She wasn't feeling better. She was still exhausted.

"I can feel such strong magic coming from it…" Sienna said in awe, cradling an exhausted Blayze in her arms, "This Aless, she was definitely not the average wizardess...she might have been of fairy-descent…she lived so long ago, yet you can still feel a unique magic just...pulsating from it. She might've even been a halfling like Selene. I feel some strong wind aura mixed in with it."

"Our one problem is the fact that it's also hundreds of miles from the academy. It's not even in Gedonelune, but the country next to it." Klaus pointed out, "And it just as far from Ms. Zana's home."

"Blayze was too tired to do more than transfer us to the exact spot on Myula that corresponds with Elementum. It makes sense that a castle would be in the same place as a castle." Sienna explained, "But at least we're in the same world."

As she and Klaus try and figure out what to do next, Selene started to move towards the castle. Philyra helped without her even having to ask. Slowly they made our way up the front steps. The large front door was made of sturdy, old wood carved with all sorts of symbols. Selene ran a finger down it, shivering slightly every time the chill of the new-night air stirred. Selene didn't like cold, Philyra remembered.

There brass doorknob on the door was in the shape of a lily. "I think we would've gotten along well, Aless." Selene whispered gently as she reached for it, stroking it with a single finger.

There was a bird-like squawk as the knob started to glow, and was fairly bright in the darkness. "Hmm?" Selene hummed in confusion. Klaus gasped and started to run towards the two, and felt the ground started to tremble slightly beneath their feet.

There was a bang, and a force pulled Philyra and Selene in, and just as Klaus and Sienna (still carrying Blayze) reached them, grabbing hold of part of them. Selene gasped and everything went far blacker than the night they had been in.

Philyra yelped as she landed, and then Selene landed on top of her. She heard Klaus grunt as he, too, fell. But he came and lifted Selene off of her, setting her tenderly on the floor. He tried his best to look calm, but Philyra could see the panic in his eyes as she wasn't waking up immediately. "Selene! Selene, wake up!" He shook shook her carefully.

"Klaus?" Selene reached up and rubbed her eyes, "Did you hear that? And I'm hungry…"

Klaus sighed, "You pass out and the first thing you ask for is food. The answer is yes, we have a little food." He took her hand and helped her up. "You weren't out for long, though, just a few minutes." He dug in his bag and handed her a bundle, which she promptly unwrapped.

"If what you said is true, Klaus, then we must be the first ones to be in here since Aless herself." Sienna said.

"She called me sister. The voice I heard before I woke up." Selene said softly before putting a few more of the berries in her mouth. That's right, Philyra thought, she mentioned hearing something when she first woke up.

"Selene," Klaus began, shaking his head, "I'm starting to think you're more trouble than you're worth."

She snorted, "If you're really the genius they say you are, you would've figured that out a long time ago, Emperor." The two of them glanced at each other, then started to laugh. She was laughing so hard she had to sit down on the ground, so hard tears began to stream down her face.

What was so funny? Philyra didn't get it.

Klaus helped her back up once she calmed down. She wiped away tears as she said, "We should probably get going. The voice—she—said we could rest here if we figured out the secret of this place." She leaned on Klaus' arm this time and they started walking. After a few slow steps, Klaus just scooped her up and continued on.

"K-klaus! There's no need!" She cried, "I can walk by myself."

"It's faster." He said.

"Well thank you for your response, Yukiya." Selene grumbled. "And I don't know if it's just me, or what, but we've been past this place before. At least a few times. Are we going in circles?"

"We are!" cried Sienna, "I can't believe I didn't realize that!"

Philyra noticed something, something that was different among the other things in the hall. She tugged on Selene's arm, and pointed to a suit of armor. One just like the other's lining the wall, the lily on the ends of the sword hilts and all, except for it's arm was raised up.

"Do you think it has something to do with it, Lyra?" She asked Philyra. She nodded. Selene hopped out of Klaus' arms before he could stop her and hobbled over to the suit of armor. She reached up and tried to pull it down, but didn't have the strength. She lifted her feet and hung on. It was almost comical, because it still didn't move. She wasn't heavy enough to bring it down.

Klaus sighed, "Let me help." He came over and helped her pull the armor's arm down. With a loud click, the hallway in front of them swirled and shifted into a stairway.

She groaned, "It goes up...ugh…"

And yelped as Klaus suddenly, once more, scooped her up like she weighed absolutely nothing. She sighed, "You're so stubborn sometimes."

"Pot." Apparently it was some sort of inside joke between the buddies, because Philyra didn't understand it.

"If you want to climb all those stairs while wearing a bag and holding a person, be my guest. Less work for me." Selene retorted.

He smirks, "That _was_ the point, shortie."

"Well, your Rudeness, start climbing then."

He chuckled and began climbing, being trailed by the rest. The second floor was one giant garden.

"The most beautiful thing about nature is that it can take care of itself." Selene said, awed.

The walls were covered luminescent moss, and the glow gave the garden a magical feel. Even more so that it normally would have in the daytime. It was beautiful.

"How do you have a garden like this even when it's not on the ground?" She continued.

There were far more kinds of plants than Philyra ever could hope to name, the biggest variety of a single kind of plant, as far as she could see, were the lilies. Every kind imaginable. There were other flowers, loads of them, but none so much as the lilies.

"Wind and earth magic." Sienna said, "This confirms it. This Aless woman was definitely a halfling, probably a mixture of wind and earth.

"She was worshipped as a great witch," Klaus said, "and feared just as much. I can't imagine, from everything we've seen so far, that she wished either. I suppose that's why she lived out in the middle of nowhere, all by herself."

"I guess secluding yourself is the easiest way to avoid people treating you in such a manner." Selene said, "I personally would've resorted to other methods, mostly because I don't think I could keep my sanity without other people, but perhaps it got so bad she felt this was the only way. I'd bet, if she did have earth magic, she built this garden to keep her company"

"And I'd bet most anything that there's people who couldn't live without you either." Klaus said, "I for one know more than I can count in your immediate family alone."

She smiled, "I do have an abnormally large family."

Selene paused, and her eyebrows furrowed. She peered over Klaus' shoulder towards a dead end. "Hey, let's go that way."

Klaus turned to look where she pointed, "That's a dead end, Selene."

"Trust me. Just trust me."

"I can see it too, Selene. Klaus, listen to her. Let's go that way." Sienna added, nodding at Selene. Philyra didn't see anything, but if both Selene and Sienna saw it...she'd believe it's there.

He sighed and started walking a different direction. Selene made him put her down as they approached, and she walked over shakily. Philyra saw the door now—it had a lily-shaped doorknob. Selene put a finger to it, waited a second, then gripped it and turned the handle.


	8. Chapter 7

TheFallenHer0: I totally agree. Selene as matchmaker is going to be fun. I even know how to write a matchmaker because I've done it enough in real life (*insert laughing emoji*). And I'm glad you see Selene and Klaus as equals, because that's what I wanted them to be. I'm a big believer in balance, and that's why I believe the best relationships, the strongest and longest-lasting relationships are the ones where one person balances the other out. They can't be too much the same or they don't balance and it doesn't work. They can't be completely different in a way that puts on or the other out of balance. Balance is key for the perfect relationship, in my honest opinion. Also, I'm glad you liked the castle! I really wanted to try and incorporate it in at some point, and I'm so happy I managed to find a place where it made sense.

* * *

" _Hold on to me,_

 _'cause I'm a little unsteady._

 _If you love me,_

 _don't let go_."

—Sam Harris

* * *

Chapter 7—(Chapter 58)

Selene opened the door and revealed an empty room, the walls all stone. There was a large, ovalish-shaped hole in the wall. It let in the light of the almost-full moon, lighting up the room more than enough to see clearly. There were tree branches just visible outside of it.

"I thought we were higher up." Selene said.

"I've been thinking that the areas in this manor aren't connected in the normal way, as expected since the entire place was made with magic. I've heard of doors that lead to anywhere you want them to, but not an entire castle of the same principal," Klaus sighed. "But then again, I should stop thinking I know so much when I keep learning things to prove wrong what I've previously learned."

"Good choice," she teased him. "And if what you've just explained is true, I'm guessing at something else. We don't know what's in the manor, so we don't know where we want to go. I think this castle is leading us where it's magic wants us to go."

"That sounds reasonable," he agreed.

Selene glanced at a spot where the light seemed to gather. There was a stone marker surrounded by lilies. They were a gentle brown with glowing silver threads. She walked over and knelt by the stone. There was a lily mark on the stone, carved with a careful hand. There was a strange language written on it. Not that Philyra would really know. She couldn't read to begin with.

"Huh?" Klaus said, "And this stone, it looks almost like an old grave."

"That's what it says. 'I do not rest here'." Selene said, no louder than she had to, "I don't think it's a grave, though. But perhaps something was buried here." She reached out and brushed the lily on the stone and didn't even gasp as it started to glow, though Sienna did.

"What's wrong?" Klaus asked, confused. She hushed him and backed up. She could clearly see something, Sienna too, but Philyra, and Klaus, couldn't.

"That had to have been Aless. She...she put her magic in here. She separated everything that made her a halfling, anything of her elementalism, from herself, sealed it into a key, and...buried it here." Selene went to the grave again and began to dig with her hands. It came away easily, like fresh soil. No one disturbed her, and were unable to bring themselves to do anything. "She looked younger than me, even. No more than fifteen. It must have been lonely, to be isolated for something you couldn't help, something you were born with."

Philyra felt a pang of sympathy for Aless. She knew what it was like to be lonely, isolated because you had something others didn't. To feel that your magic was a curse because it kept you from being normal. How having it made you a freak.

Eventually Selene pulled out a small key, and it was glowing with a dim pink-silver light, magic and moonlight. The flowers that had surrounded the stone stopped glowing.

"I can see a barrier around it. How are you able to touch it?" Klaus reached to it, but his hand couldn't get within a foot of it, and slid away like it had an invisible bubble around it.

"I think that Aless wanted it to be found by someone like her, a halfling like Selene." Sienna said, "Selene, didn't you say that the voice called you 'sister'?"

she nodded, and turned the key over in her hand, brushing her thumb against it.

' _Thank you, wind-sister, we've had fun…_ '

Klaus made a startled noise, and Philyra jumped. They had heard the voice, too.

"You're welcome, Aless. You may have separated your human from your animal, your element, but you two are still here, aren't you? Waiting, hoping to be found." Selene held the key to her heart. "You won't be alone anymore." She kept the key in her hand as she stood up.

 _You won't be alone anymore_.

Selene had made her the same promise. Philyra wasn't going to be alone as long as Selene was there. Philyra wasn't sure how she knew it, but something in her trusted Selene, and she desperately wanted to be worthy of that promise.

"No one ever did know what became of her. She disappeared, and wasn't seen or heard from again," Klaus commented.

"I guess we know now. I'd guess her human self went back to having a normal life. I don't think she understood that she left behind not only her magic, but two actually personages. I don't think I could leave mine behind, no matter how much trouble they are." Selene's face looked sad. Not like she wanted to cry or she pitied something, but it was a sadness an elderly person would have looking back on their mistakes. It was odd to see it on her face. Selene wasn't even an adult yet.

"Have either of them said anything to you?" Sienna asked.

She shook my head, "I'm guessing they're tired out. They used so much magical power protecting this place for so long, and leading us here. The only thing keeping _me_ going is reserves of energy...remind me to explain my theory of overtiredness sometime...when my mind is a little more...organized and...awake…"

Selene started to sway, and Klaus lurched forward to catch her before she hit the ground. He fell to his knees, having lost his balance. He just knelt there and cradled her for a moment before getting back up. "She's too light." he murmured, "Too weak."

"Klaus." Philyra spoke. "Don't blame yourself."

Klaus jumped, having never heard the young girl speak. "You can talk?"

She nodded, the shook her head.

"You can but you can't." He sighed, "I swear Selene is rubbing her self-contradictoriness onto you. You can speak, but you don't like to, then?"

She nodded again, and dared another whisper, "Let's find somewhere to put her. She's tired."

Klaus was the one who nodded this time. Leading the way, Sienna went to look for a room where they could spend the night.

…. …. ….

They had eventually found a few rooms, and settled into one that had a door linking it to the one next door. Selene was put on her own bed, and Klaus settled down in a chair next to it, keeping guard. Philyra and Sienna were sharing the one in the other room, Blayze using the arm of a chair as a perch.

Everyone else had fallen asleep. Philyra had, but had woken up and was now sprawled on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. Sienna was asleep in miniature form on the other pillow. It was weird having a pillow. She'd never really had one before. It was very comfortable. Far more than she was used to, hence the reason she was awake. The bed was also really soft.

She was listening to the night sounds coming in through the window when she heard soft voices in the next room over. She carefully slid out of bed and peeked through the crack in the door only to see Klaus crawl in next to a trembling Selene.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" he asked her. Oh. She must have had a nightmare. No one could blame her after recent events.

"Not really, but...can we stay like this?"

He nodded. A few moments later, Selene spoke up.

"Klaus, I have something to tell you."

"Yes?"

"Well, while I was still captive and whatnot, I realized something."

"What?"

She pulled away from him slightly and looked him in the eyes, but then seemed to lose her nerve, "Umm…" she looked down again.

"What is it?" He said gently.

She inhaled, then exhaled slowly before looking up and...kissing Klaus.

Philyra's face flushed and she yanked back (silently, mind) from the door. She shouldn't have been watching. That was a private moment. She crept back to the bed and curled up on top.

"Wha ha'ned?" Sienna muttered, cracking open an eye.

"Uh…"

"They kissed, didn't they?"

Philyra's face flushed anew and she nodded.

"Ugh. Finally. I've been watching them for months, just waiting for it to happen. And now that it's happened, it'll be so much easier to go from there. I'm glad." Sienna smiled, "G'night."

"N-night…" Philyra mumbled. Hopefully she hadn't been seen. That would _not_ be a fun explanation.


	9. Chapter 8

As I said in Elemental, the entirety of the Spiral will be on temporary hiatus while I work to catch things up and move them ahead. But I have plenty of things planned, which is why I need the break. But do not worry, dearest readers! I shall (eventually) return with more of the Spiral!

TheFallenHer0: No, these Halflings have always struggled. It's always been like that for those who are different than everyone else. I think, not for sure, in the third book (which doesn't even have a draft title and is really far away) Selene is going to start some sort of organization for Halflings. Well, not just for elemental or fae halflings, but for anyone who is of mixed blood (any fae or elemental ancestry) or is fae gifted. Create something to where they can go to it for protection and support, or learn the best ways of controlling their power. Because the normal ways people learn magic don't apply to these kinds. So it'll be somewhere safe and caring, something a lot of people who are like that don't get, because they're often rejected, or neglected, all sorts of things. I think it'll be a good idea, when I eventually get to it. What do you think?

* * *

" _I'm coming home._

 _Tell the world I'm coming home._

 _Let the rain wash away_

 _all the pain of yesterday._

 _I know my kingdom awaits_

 _and they've forgiven my mistakes._

 _I'm coming home._

 _I'm coming home._

 _Tell the world that I'm coming..._

 _home._ "

—Skylar Grey

* * *

Chapter 8—(Chapter 59)

Philyra woke with a start as someone gently shook her. She opened her eyes to see Selene standing over her.

"We're going to go back to the garden and find something to eat, okay?" Selene whispered.

Philyra nodded in agreement, getting up carefully, as not to wake Sienna, who was sprawled eagle-spread on the floor

"We'll work on your speaking." She sighed. "Come on, Lyra. Let's go." She grabbed her sister's hand and started walking, humming something.

…. …. ….

"Breakfast~! Come and get it before it's gone~!" Selene ran into the room where Klaus was still, presumably, asleep. "Klaus, hun, you comin'? Hurry up or I'll eat it all~!"

"They are _so_ a couple." Sienna giggled, eating a raspberry, "She's never called him that before. They're my total OTP—I've been shipping them for months now!"

Philyra gave the faery a strange look. What in the worlds was she talking about?

"Oh yeah. It's a Terran thing. To 'ship' two people is to hope they become a couple because you think they'd be an awesome couple! An 'OTP' is a 'one true pairing', and it's almost the same thing. I really need to come up with a couple name for the two.

"Oh hush up, woman! Must you always be so loud this early in the morning! I'm coming!" Klaus cried out as Selene laughed.

"You've got to properly greet the sun, you know! It's such an amazing thing!" She informs him, skipping back into the room were the rest of them were.

…. …. ….

Eventually they made it covertly back to Gedonelune with the help of Wade—one of Selene's older brothers—who Selene managed to contact because he was in the same country with his girlfriend, Galena.

Upon reaching Gedonelune, they (meaning Klaus) contacted the Ministry and arranged for them to speak to a special division, known as the Elite Knights. An investigation was opened, then closed, as all was explained. The head of the knights, the Paladin, decided that they should keep the truth about elementals a secret, and that the memories of all the humans involved should be erased. The orphaned children, it was decided, would stay with the witch (it was someone Klaus knew, and had sent the rest of the children who'd been held captive to) until they were old enough to attend the academy, and the ones with families would be returned to them.

"Excuse me sir. Would the three of us be included in that memory erasing?" Selene said sweetly, gesturing to herself, Klaus, and Philyra.

The Paladin raised an eyebrow and gave them a skeptical look, "Yes, you three were involved, were you not?"

Selene just continued to smile cordially, "We were a little _too_ involved for our memories to be safely erased. Most of the kids, yes, it's a good thing for their protection. But they hardly left a room and didn't know what was going on. The three of us, well, to put it lightly, can't really lose those memories safely. For one, you can't really erase the knowledge that I am, in fact, half elemental. That knowledge is stored in blood memories of my elemental-self Celeste, and no human magic can tamper with that. Basically, it cannot be undone, or altered. Perks of being not-quite-human. As for Klaus and Philyra here, they were in far too deep. You'd leave them with a huge gap in their memory that wouldn't make sense. And don't those sort of things make the spell weak and easily broken? And when those memories do end up returning, wouldn't it just cause more trauma than leaving them there?" she tilted her head, the wide-eyed picture of innocence.

"She's right, sir." said one of the knights, the youngest one, a redhead named Vincent. Honestly, he wasn't that much older than Klaus. No more than twenty or twenty-one. "It would do more harm than good with these three. And I doubt that Miss Fonix would like to spread her heritage and cause herself to become an outcast among her peers."

"Thank you...Vincent, wasn't it?" He nodded and Selene sent him a smile.

The Paladin sighed, and concluded that the three can keep their memories, but it was imperative to keep it all a secret. Selene also secured permission to tell a select group of trustworthy people as long as she knew they wouldn't spread it.

"And are you absolutely sure that the man responsible for all this is no longer a problem?" the Paladin asked.

Selene nodded, "Yes, sir. That is a certainty. And I believe it's best if we leave Elementum as a whole alone. The elementals don't tend to be too fond of humans, so we'd best leave them be. It's like a wasps' nest. You leave them alone, they'll leave you alone. What happened with us was an anomaly. But if we disturb that hive...I don't think there's much of anything we can do about the consequences. Human magic is strong, but there are plenty of humans who can't use it, or use it well. Best just to leave it be and act like we don't know anything. Now, if you'll excuse me, I really need to get back to Terra. My family, with the exception of Wade and Galena, don't know that I am safe."

Or that she had adopted a sister. She had filled adoption papers out and everything. Philyra was surprised. Selene had been serious when she said that Philyra had a home with her.

And soon, Selene was off to Terra with Philyra, while Klaus had to return to the academy to sort everything else out there. Philyra wasn't sure what would happen next.

She could only hope that it would end well.


	10. Chapter 9

Okay, so as you all know, Elemental Book 1 is complete. But, each chapter of Halfling says which chapter it would be it I didn't break it up into books. That's the number I'll use in Cursed for how the chapters line up. While it says it goes with Chapter 60, it's really matched up with Halfing Chapter 1. Just be aware of that.

seraphim: here's the first update for this in a while! Unfortunately, this will be the only one until Halfling chapter 4. This story in a handful of chapters will really start to focus on Philyra and Yukiya once Selene returns to the academy.

* * *

" _A whole new world..._

 _A dazzling place I never knew._

 _But when I'm way up here,_

 _it's crystal clear, that now I'm in_

 _a whole new world with you._ "

—Lea Salonga and Brad Kane

* * *

Chapter 9—(Chapter 60)

Philyra watched from a bit of a distance as Klaus woke up Selene. She had fallen asleep waiting for the documents to finish processing. She still had dark circles under her eyes. When Philyra had first met her, Selene's skin had been a golden tan color. Now, it was shockingly pale.

"I'm like a plant sometimes. If I don't get enough sunlight, I sort of wither. If I'm out of the sun for a few weeks, I become as pale as my mother was. It's a pain to get my tan back, because I can, despite popular belief, get burned. I get burned by boiling water and other liquids, just like other people. And I also get sunburn, because nothing can stand up to the sun. It's just straight up fire that doesn't burn me." Selene had told her at one point.

Even if Selene wasn't entirely human, it was still odd to see her lose the tan so quickly. It made her seem washed out and fragile, something completely contrary to her character. Even though Selene wasn't going to outright say it, she hated seeming weak and delicate and Philyra could tell.

She also was a lot less energetic and cheery than she had been the first time when she had seen Selene. It's like she mellowed out and lost a bit of her spark. She brushed it off as just being tired and needed to rest, but Philyra could tell it was more than that. Something was weighing Selene's spirits down.

Philyra thought it might be because she knew she wasn't human, not really. And having three people sharing one head couldn't be easy. Particularly with Angel, who was violent. Angel scared Philyra. He had taken a sick joy and pleasure in torturing Jerkwad, and wouldn't have stopped if Celeste hadn't made him. If he somehow took control and hurt someone...not only would it horrify Selene, but it might make bad people take her away again.

The freaks tended to get taken away and used and abused. Philyra would know. And she didn't want Selene to get taken away from her. And if they took Selene, they'd probably take her too. She didn't know which scared her more, losing her new family or being enslaved again.

…. …. ….

"Make sure to keep your eyes closed during the transfer, Lyra. It get's really bright even with closed eyes." Selene told her. Philyra nodded and tightened her grip on Selene's sleeve.

" _Please prepare for transfer. Ten. Nine._ " She was going to another _world_. A _third_ one. " _Six. Five."_ She had never even expected to leave that town. " _Three. Two."_ She screwed her eyes shut. " _One._ " There's a bright flash, and when it died down Philyra dared to open her eyes. They were in a different one, this one whiter than any room she had ever seen. This wasn't a white you could find in nature. It was like they were in a box without exits.

She heard Selene's breathing slightly start speed up, only to calm back down once a crack appeared in the wall and opened to reveal it to be a door.

Selene had mentioned, back when they were captives, that she was terrified of being locked in somewhere, be it a cage or a room. She could, actually, handle being locking in, as long she was able to free herself. But if she couldn't free herself, she had a panic attack and completely freaked out. Philyra hadn't realized that it'd be that bad, to the point where it only took seconds to start panicking. But the door was open and Selene was okay.

She followed Selene to a different room. This place had a lot more sharp edges and exact corners than the one in Myula. It was a lot harsher.

"I know what you're thinking. It doesn't look nearly as friendly as the one we left. Terra, particularly the modernized areas, like making things exact and sterile. Don't worry. Home isn't like that. It's a little more...human. Natural." Selene smiled at her.

Philyra noticed that Selene called it "home" as if it was home to both of them. She liked that. She hadn't really had a home since her father remarried. For a brief moment she wondered how Sandra was doing. It had been over six months, almost, since Ilda had sold her. Philyra didn't care about that woman or her son, but she wondered about her little half-sister, the sweet little girl who secretly disobeyed her mother to spend time with Philyra, her older sister by blood.

Funny thing is, this was the first time she had thought of Sandra since being sold. Perhaps it was Selene's referral to her as a sister.

Speaking of Selene, Philyra noticed that as she held something to her ear and talked into it, that she was more relaxed than Philyra had ever seen her. She wasn't so…tense, so wary of her surroundings.

"Thanks. See you in a couple minutes, Eric. Love you."

Ah. That little device was letting her talk to one of her brothers. It didn't make much sense to Philyra how it worked, but then again she didn't really need to know. Selene was happy. That was what mattered.

Only a couple moments later a man appeared in the room, wearing odd clothing and looking like he'd been asleep not too long ago. The brown-eyed brunette was probably one of the biggest people Philyra had ever seen, a few inches taller than Klaus had been and quite a bit broader. He was built like a warrior. And if she remembered correctly, Selene's brother Eric taught martial arts and other kinds of fighting and self-defense.

And he walked right up and pulled his little sister into a hug.

"Hey Eric." Selene said, hugging him back.

He pulled back and smacked her lightly on the back of the head. "You had everyone worried."

"Yeah, I know. Sorry 'bout that. I was, ah, a bit tied up." Selene laughed a bit sheepishly.

"You've clearly got a tale to tell." He shook his head, "But first we're going to stuff you with food. Come on, let's go home."

Philyra came up behind her, hiding a bit behind her.

Selene broke out smiling, "Home. What a wonderful word. C'mon, Lyra. Meet a new big brother. This is Eric." Then she spoke in English, "I've adopted her. She's now my little sister. I'll elaborate later. Promise."

He nodded at the smaller girl. "Hi."

Philyra nodded.

"Lyra doesn't speak all that much." Selene said.

"Alright. Philyra, can you hold my hand? I need to be touching both you and Selene to transport you with me." She nodded and tentatively took his proffered hand. Selene grabbed his other. "Ready? Good." Eric muttered something and soon the world warped momentarily. When it corrected, they were standing in the snow of the front doorway of a house as snow whipped around in the wind.

Eric yanked his hand out of Selene's with a hiss, "Selene, your temperature just shot up." It was true. Any snow that hit her hissed as it evaporated. The snow at Selene's feel was melting and her clothes were steaming. Eric opened the door and waved the girls into the house.

"That was...odd." Selene said slowly. She paused for a few moments, making faces, as if she was talking to someone, then looked over at her brother, worried, "Eric, is your hand okay?"

He showed it to her, palm up. It was red, but not too badly. "It's not going to blister or anything. It'll be fine. Felicia can take care of it if it needs it."

She released a breath, "Okay. Good. That's good."

"Everyone is waiting for you in the family room." Eric said.

Selene nodded and Philyra grabbed the back of her shirt, following her into another room, this one full of people. People who all looked over at Selene when she entered. Philyra slunk back into a corner as Selene started speaking to the others.

"Hey, everyone. Sorry I was gone so long." She said, her smile, at least to Philyra, looked a bit forced, because Selene's lips trembled and her eyes were starting to water. "I-I didn't mean t-to be g-gone so l-long...an-an-and…" Philyra watched, feeling helpless as Selene sank to the floor, sobbing openly.

One of the younger boys, one who looked around the same age Sandra would be, came up and wrapped his arms around Selene. He smiled at her, "Don't cry, Aunt Selene. It'll be okay. I promise." Selene's lower lip trembled and she pulled him into a hug as she started crying again.

"E-Elvy, don't ever grow up, if you can help it," she told him. "Stay this perfect little boy, forever and ever."

He grinned, "I'll try, Aunt Lena! I probably won't be as good at it as Peter Pan, though. He's the master." Philyra didn't know who he was talking about. Peter Pan? She'd have to ask Selene later, if she remembered.

Selene giggled, "That he is, Elvy, that he is."

Selene's other family members, the woman specifically, snapped out of their surprise and rushed over to her, inspecting her and talking in a language Philyra didn't know. It sounded like the one Selene would sometimes slip into, usually without realizing it. It was the language of this land, and Philyra, for the life of her, couldn't remember what Selene called it.

"Lyra." Selene said, snapping Philyra out of her thoughts. "Would you like something to eat? No, scratch that. You need to eat."

Philyra nodded and retreated further into the shadows in the corner of the room. She had seen this coming. Selene had given up a lot of her ever-decreasing rations back at Jerkwad's castle to Philyra, using the excuse that she'd been starving far longer and needed it more. Selene had suffered for it. She was thinner and had lost weight she couldn't really afford to lose. And she'd lost it faster than a normal human would. It was the fire in her heritage, and it needed lots of fuel. Fuel she didn't get, fuel she willing gave up for her. Philyra was used to little food. Selene was physically unable to go without food without the consequences being serious.

Philyra still didn't understand why Selene had become so protective of her. They had met in that prison, but there was no real reason that Philyra could see that caused Selene to actively seek responsibility for her. Other than Selene being Selene and doing things and not caring to give anyone a reason.

There was a reason, though, Philyra just didn't know it.

Selene spoke, interrupting her thoughts. "Lyra, would you come over here and meet my family? They're your family, too." She looked at her until Philyra went and sat next to her. She tried to hide in Selene's side, making her self as unnoticeable as possible. "Everyone, this is Philyra. She's now my legal little sister. I adopted her because she didn't have a home to go back to." It was more than that, Philyra knew. There had been other orphans with no home. But Selene had kept her. Selene still hadn't told the real reason to anyone. Philyra really wanted to know. "That, and I've grown fond of her. She was in the same place I was, and honestly, had it a lot worse for a lot longer. She doesn't really talk, but I'm going to work on that."

One of the younger boys, maybe around three or four came up and grabbed her hand, smiling at the shy girl, "W-w-welcome, A-unt L-l-lyra!" A-aunt? Why did he call her that...she wasn't related to him, and didn't even know him. Yet he just accepted her. "I-I'm D-da-ren. I l-like ch-cho-co-late al-mond co-okies. The on-es mama m-makes."

He's such a cute kid, Philyra thought. She couldn't help but smile back, ever-so-slightly.

"Th-there's s-some in the ki-kitchen. Do you w-want one?"

Her slight smile grew slightly and she nodded. Daren beamed and ran to the kitchen.

"I wanna meet her!" cried another boy, this one slightly older, around six or so, ambled his way up to her with a strange winged rabbit on his head. "She can hold 'Kura!"

Philyra looked at the pink rabbit creature, a little confused. Rabbits don't normally have wings...nor are they pink like that…

"It's a wing rabbit." said an older boy, this one around ten. "And I'm Galvin."

Galvin. _Isn't he the nephew of Selene who lost his father?_ Philyra thought. Philyra nodded at him and he smiled.

"Well, I'll be the first to say: welcome to our crazy family." Galvin said wryly, "Good luck."


	11. Chapter 10

Everyone in Selene's family speaks English and Myulan. However, since Philyra's here they'll mostly be speaking in Myulan so she can understand them. They do speak English to the Terrans, though. English, when spoken, looks like _this_ , just to remind you.

* * *

"Because a family

is what you make it.

It's you and your loved ones,

whoever they are."

~Jim Rule

* * *

Chapter 10—(63/64)

Selene had woken up in the middle of the night. She had woken up Philyra when started thrashing around. Philyra then shook the older girl, who'd started choking as she tried to breath, awake.

She gasped and opened her eyes, then looked at Philyra. "Sorry if I woke you, Lyra. I'm fine. It was just a bad dream. And bad dreams can't hurt me."

Philyra crossed her arms and glared. Selene laughed sheepishly, "Yeah, yeah, I know. I just thought I'd give convincing myself a try."

Philyra sighed and layed back down, snuggling into her sister's side.

The sister who didn't fall asleep for a while. Philyra pretended to be asleep, but she didn't fall asleep until after Selene did.

…. …. ….

Philyra woke to light coming in from the window the next morning. She laid there until her stomach grumbled a complaint, then slid out from under the covers. Selene was out. It seems like her energy was entirely spent, and Philyra wasn't about to wake her. She needed it.

Philyra crept down the steep stairs and almost ran into a kid coming out of a door right by the bottom of the stairs—which, honestly, was not the best place for a door. It was a sleepy-eyed Daren, who perked up at seeing his new aunt. "A-a-aunt Ly-ra!" Daren smiled. "M-m-morn-in'!"

Philyra smiled at him, then froze as Daren grabbed her hand and began to pull her along, down another set of stairs and to the kitchen. "M-m-mor-nin!" Daren cried. There were a few of the adults in the room, preparing food. She believed their names were Cynthia, Marie, and Ria.

"Well good morning, sweetling." Ria put down the spatula she was using to make something in a pan and came over to give Daren a hug, "Is daddy still sleeping?"

Daren nodded, "B-b-but Au-aunt Ly-r-ra is up-p!"

Ria smiled at Philyra, "I can see that. Did you sleep well?"

She nodded. It was a bit of a lie, but it was trivial. She'd slept a lot worse.

"Are you hungry? Breakfast is just about ready."

Another nod.

Ria smiled softly, "Well then, why don't you take her to the table, Daren? Have her sit in Aunt Lena's seat? I'm sure that she's not going to be up for a while."

"Ha. She'll sleep 'till noon, I bet." One of the brothers, who had just walked in, snorted, "She was dead on her feet." Merlin. The name popped into Philyra's head. He's the one who liked making things out of Terran things and Myulan magic. The youngest older brother. "And kiddo," he looked at Philyra, "I didn't get the chance to say this last night, but welcome to the family. And if you ever need anything, just come to any of us. One thing you'll quickly learn about this family is that we take being a family seriously." He patted her on the head and went to go bug Marie for...bacon, was it? Marie lightly whacked him on the back of the head when he tried to grab some, and told him to wait until everything was ready.

Philyra stared after him with wide eyes. Selene had told her almost the exact same thing. Did all of the members of this family feel that way?

…. …. ….

Breakfast was chaotic. A mess. But it was more fun than Philyra had in a long time. She wasn't usually a fan of noise, but Selene's family—no, they were her family now, too—made noise equal entertainment. The table wasn't one table, but two large tables pushed together to hold everyone and the food. She watched as mothers and aunts made sure the children were fed and didn't make too much of a mess as the brothers talked and debated and occasionally threw food at one another—earning whacks and scolding from the nearest woman for being a bad example for the littles.

And little Daren sat by her and talked to her, while Alric sat on her other side with a pink wing-rabbit (which was named Sakura, as the little boy had informed her) on his head that kept fading in and out of sight. Philyra ate until she felt as if she would throw up if she ate more. It all tasted wonderful and she didn't think she'd ever had so much food she could eat at once, and most definitely none of it this good.

As everyone finished up, Marie stood up and announced, "All littles head my van! We're heading to my house for the day to let certain peoples have some peace and quiet."

Four boys, ages five to ten, hopped up, took their plates to the kitchen, and ran to the front of the house, pulling on strange snowgear that Philyra assumed was normal for this world. Not even two minutes later they had run out the door, Marie following close behind.

Daren, however, still sat in his seat, and was playing with a his fork and a piece of bread, making them talk to each other in another language—which Philyra assumed was English, from what Selene sounded like when she spoke it.

Selene's brothers were all wandering off, either leaving or to their respective rooms, as were the sisters. Ria stayed, and used a bit of magic to clean the table. She looked at Philyra and winked, "The women make the food, but the guys—they get to do the dishes. They'll get to them later, probably after we leave."

Philyra tilted her head, her brows furrowed in confusion. _Leave?_

Ria noticed the girl's confusion. "Yes, I'm taking you out. We're going to get your hair cut and buy you some clothes. Everyone pitched in some cash, so we have more than enough. You'd probably fit into Selene's old clothes, but then there's the fact that she's always been hard on her clothes, so the old ones are worn and tattered. Therefore, we'll find you some cute clothes to wear, brand new. I'll help you pick them out, if you'd like, but they'll mostly be your choice." She smiled, "Come on, now, let's have you take a bath and find you some things to wear out in public, as well as a coat and such. It's pretty cold. Daren, make sure to go tell Daddy that we'll be leaving sooner than later, will you?" Daren nodded happily and skipped off to go find his father.

Philyra allowed herself to be docily led to a clean white room that contained a fancy—apparently only fancy to her—bath of sorts, as well as a sink with a long counter. Ria turned on some sort of faucet and water came pouring out. She held her hand in the waterflow until she nodded and put a plug into the drainage hole, causing the water to start filling it. Ria went and closed the door. "Come now, let's get you clean."

…. …. ….

Half an hour later, Philyra found herself being wrapped in one of Selene's old coats and a random pair of mittens that Ria wasn't sure who they belonged to. "We're a big family," she said. "We switch the little things around and they really belong to everyone. The only reason that I know this is Selene's coat is because it's too small to fit any of her brothers." Ria laughed, "I'd lend you a better coat, but I didn't bring a spare with me. Mine are all at home." She looked over into the other room, "Daren, hun, you coming?"

"C-c-com-ing Mama!"

…. …. ….

This world was so different from the one she left behind. The house where she had been was strange enough. Then she was introduced to things she'd only heard Selene _talk_ about. A horseless carriage that ran on non-magical energy, which could go far faster than a carriage ever could—the scenery was blurry outside of it as it moved and it made her dizzy. It frightened her, especially at first, and she was clutching the strap that held her in place the entire time until their first stop, and it wasn't until they stopped that Philyra noticed where they were. It seemed to be a town, but it was a town unlike any she had ever seen. Buildings were made with such precise angles that it seemed hopelessly improbable for such things to be built.

"First stop: hair salon." Ria said, smiling at Philyra as she unbuckled Daren from some sort of seat contraption. Philyra had scrambled out of the non-beast thing—car, it was called a car—as soon as it had stopped and unlocked. "Normally, Sarah or I would cut your hair, but Sarah had a baby last night and I'm not as good as she is. I'm thinking layers for your hair, and I can't do that so well." She carried daren as she lead Philyra towards one of the buildings, "I can fix short hair, because I can just use the hair trimmer, which is what I'm doing with Selene's later, but yours is going to be a little more complicated. Her's will just be making it all about the same length in a pixie cut, which is pretty much what we do for the boys."

Philyra just stayed, as per usual, silent. Not that even if she were to speak she'd know what to say. None of that really made much sense, other than Selene's hair had to be fixed and she was getting hers cut. That worried her. She really didn't want to have people see her green eye. Even when Ria had been washing her hair, she had kept it closed or hand a hand over it when it couldn't be covered with her hair.

A bell rang as Ria pushed a door open. She let Philyra in first and followed close behind.

" _Hello!_ " a cheerful voice called out a greeting in English. Well, Philyra assumed it was English since Selene said that was all people spoke where she lived in Terra, with the exclusion of her family members.

" _Peggie!_ " Ria grinned, " _It's wonderful to see you. How've you been?_ "

" _Good, good. Business has been doing well. I was surprised to see that you had called to set up an appointment this morning, and so suddenly. Sarah not able to do it?_ " The woman, a little younger than Ria and extremely perky, apparently named Peggie, asked.

" _She went into labor last night. Baby girl , named Calina._ " Ria replied.

Peggie gasped, " _Oh my gosh, tell her I said congrats! That's the first baby girl in the family since Selene, right?_ "

" _Yes, she is,_ " Ria laughed, setting Daren down. He grabbed Philyra's hand and pulled her to the chairs and sat next to her. Philyra didn't mind. She couldn't understand what was being said between the two woman anyway. " _She'll be spoiled rotten for sure. Her aunt certainly is._ "

" _I bet. Now, what was the appointment for? The cute little girl you brought with you? She's new._ " Peggie gestured to Philyra, and Philyra guessed where the topic of conversation had gone.

" _Selene adopted her, actually. She's from another country. Some small European country. Doesn't speak English,_ " Ria said. " _It's where Selene goes to school. I never could pronounce it._ "

" _Really? How can anyone understand her?_ " Peggie seemed to ask.

" _You know Selene. She's really good with words, plus she goes to school there, so she of course knows the language. Selene brought her with when she got in last night. She doesn't really speak much anyway. Very quiet._ "

" _Wow. Poor Selene, though. She missed the funeral, didn't she?_ "

" _Yeah. She's pretty torn up about it. I, however, decided we need to take care of this girl she's taken in. We're going clothes shopping after this._ "

" _Well, then we better get started. Mind telling her?_ " The woman bent down and started scribbling something on a notepad.

Ria turned to Philyra, gesturing for her to come over. She bent over and whispered in her ear, "Peggie here doesn't know about magic or anything." Ria stood up, "Don't worry. You're in good hands."

Philyra nodded and allowed Peggie to lead her somewhere. There was some sort of music playing from somewhere, and while Philyra didn't know what it said, she kind of liked it. "Like the music?" Ria said. Philyra nodded, causing Ria to giggle. "Selene'll be happy to hear that. She loves this song. It's called _Something Wild_ by Lindsey Stirling, featuring a man named Andrew McMahon. Selene loves Lindsey Stirling."

" _Oh, does she like the music?_ " Peggie asked and Ria nodded. Peggie smiled. " _Nice. Now, let's get her hair washed and then cut. Any ideas of what you want?_ "

…. …. ….

An hour later, Philyra stared wide-eyed into a mirror. Her hair was shorter than it had ever been, just brushing her shoulders. Before, it had gone down to her lower back. It was much lighter now, and had fringe framing her face, along with heavy bangs on her left side, covering her green eye. She had managed to get the message across to the woman, Peggie, that she liked that eye covered.

" _She's a doll, alright. I don't normally go for bangs over an eye like that, but it works on her_." Peggie nodded her head in satisfaction, " _And the layers in there help take a lot of weight off. She's adorable, really, and her hair is a beautiful shade of brunette. How old did you say she was again, Ria?_ "

" _About fourteen._ "

" _Well, she'll be an absolute beauty when she's a smidgen older. Won't have any trouble finding a man to take care of her._ " Peggie winked at a confused Philyra.

" _Ha! If she can find one that Selene won't scare off. She's very protective of the girl._ " Ria laughed, " _Although, Selene does have her own man now. Met him briefly recently. Didn't get to talk to him, but he's sure a looker. And from what Merlin said, he's got quite the reputation._ "

" _I can't see Selene really going for the bad boy type, Ria_." Peggie looked amused, and Philyra wondered why. She knew they were talking about Selene, but that was it.

" _Oh, no, not that kind. He's top student at the school, prefect, and even teaches classes. A little older, about twenty. In his last year of school. They've got weird years in that country. He's apparently very smart. Keeps Selene sharp—apparently banter is the preferred pastime between the two. They're the sort of couple, from what I've heard, that will annoy the crap out of each other just for fun. Just the kind of natural imperial blonde you love working with, too, and according to Selene, he needs a haircut. Although, I'd bet she'll just do it to him herself before long. You know how she is. When something bugs her she just_ has _to go and fix it._ " Both women laughed. Philyra just kept inspecting herself in the mirror. It was a clearer mirror than she'd ever seen back in Myula. No ripples or distortions, but a clear, smooth surface.

" _Well, we better get going. Lots to do. Thanks so much for allowing such a sudden appointment_ ," Ria said.

" _Nah, no one else is even here until after lunch. It was no problem. Tell everyone I said hi!_ "

" _Will do. Bye-bye now!_ " Ria picked Daren up, "Come on, Philyra. Let's go get you some clothes."

Philyra pulled herself away from the mirror to follow Ria, waving goodbye to Peggie, who smiled pleasantly in return.

Who knew something so simple as getting a proper bath and a haircut could change how someone looked so drastically? And everyone had been treating her so kindly, too. It was entirely new, and gave her something to hope for. That maybe people weren't always so mean, that there were people she could trust.

But let's not get too hasty. Only time will tell.

…. …. ….

Several hours later, Philyra found herself following Ria through the door of the house. She was wearing new clothes, underthings (as well as a thing called a "bra" which was some sort of corset equivalent—it was an uncomfortable chat Ria had with her while picking a few out), and boots. She now had more clothes and shoes than she ever owned in her life. As well as bunches of other little knick knacks that Ria said were "just so cute you just _have_ to have them!"

Daren let go of her hand once they were inside and ran off to put his cold-clothing away. Philyra saw Selene curled up on the couch just a Selene looked up. Her eyes widened slightly and she grinned widely, "Is that my old jacket?"

Philyra nodded.

"And I love the haircut. It looks super cute on you, Lyra." Selene said, causing Philyra to smile ever-so-slightly and look down, scuffing her boot lightly against the ground.

"Yes, it does." Ria said matter-of-factly, "Now come and help me before my arms fall off. It all needs to be taken to your room. And then we're cutting _your_ hair. I can't believe you literally just whacked it off with a _knife_. Seriously, we've _all_ taught you better."

Selene grinned as she shrugged, getting up. "Can you blame me? It was necessary for the act. Besides, you would've moaned and groaned about how dead and split the ends were, or whatever terms you would've applied, regardless of whether or not I cut it." Selene took about half the bags from Ria's arms. "Come one, Lyra, let's get this taken care of. Ria, I assume it all fits, correct? That means you can go and cut off the tags, Lyra, while Ria fixes my hair. And then we can put them somewhere later. There's a pair of scissors in the center drawer of my desk. Sound good?"

Philyra nodded. She felt a lot more at ease here in the house. It was more familiar, and less frightening than the places they'd gone to. Less people, less noise, more of a calming, peaceful aura about the place.

Almost felt like what she imagined a _home_ to feel like.


	12. Chapter 11

You know, this is probably the most difficult of my stories to write, mostly because it's in third person whereas at least most of the others are entirely first person. I have no clue why I've always struggled more with third person. It's just harder for me, I guess.

But, we get to meet an interesting new character that I think is incredibly fun to write. Enjoy!

* * *

"Maybe, maybe, maybe,

I can find someone.

Maybe, maybe, maybe,

maybe she'll find me."

~ Joe Ely

* * *

Chapter 11—(66)

When Philyra woke, Selene was already gone. The older girl mentioned the previous night that she planned to get up early to start cleaning. Philyra, on another hand, was apparently supposed to spend the day with one of Selene's sisters, Felicia.

Philyra liked Felicia. She was calm and quiet, and had eyes like Philyra, where they weren't the same color. But Philyra didn't have the confidence of the woman to be able to let people see them. She knew they weren't something she needed to hide anymore, but there was this feeling of fear whenever she thought about not hiding them.

She stretched in the large bed, one easily large enough for both her and Selene, and probably another person, too. By herself she could completely sprawl eagle-spread and still not reach any edges. And not only was it big, it was probably the most comfortable thing Philyra had ever been able to be on. She felt incredibly lucky.

Deciding it was time to get up and get dressed, she climbed off the bed and padded over to the drawers. Selene had cleared out half of them—and they hadn't even been clothes, just stuff Selene would shove there to get it out of the way—and helped Philyra put all her new clothes there. The amount of which was far more than she had ever owned, and all of them new besides!

Picking out a simple yellow skirt, she matched it with a brown blouse and some odd shoes Ria had called "flats." Ria had tried to get her to try on different sorts of pants, including some that were scandalously short (going only to her knees!), but Philyra was solidly against the idea of wearing men's clothing—something that could get a girl flogged back in the town where she grew up. And besides that, they seemed horribly uncomfortable.

She used Selene's weird hair comb—it was like a circle-tube thing with bristles all around the outside—to untangle the knots in her hair. Then she looked up, into the mirror that was attached to the dresser.

It was odd, being able to see herself in something other than a murky, watery reflection. In fact, she even dared to think, all cleaned up like this, that she was even a little pretty. Her skin was very pale, like the complexion that the richer girls back in Lioorlie coveted. Her hair wasn't a pretty blonde like Selene or Klaus had, but it was a nice shade of brown. Her eyes, individually, were pretty colors, even if she didn't think they went together very well. She'd never pass for a noble girl or even a wealthy merchant's daughter, but she wasn't horribly ugly. And now that she was able to keep clean and actually exist, maybe she'd even catch the eye of a—hopefully kind—man one day, not that Selene would permit anyone who wouldn't take good care of her. Which was a stark contrast to what her fate would have been a few months ago if she hadn't been kidnapped by the evil elemental.

She went down the stairs, able to smell something cooking. It was faint, but clearly something like porridge. She saw Selene passing through a different room with an armful of things—brightly colored toys, mostly—and waved, receiving a nod in reply.

Philyra wished she could be more like Selene. She didn't have the super fair skin, though it was a lot paler than it had been when she'd first been captured, but a slightly darker complexion suited her fiery nature. Not to mention how her other looks combined to make her look like she was a princess from a faery tale. Even with her hair cut boy-short, there was no denying the beauty that was obvious in every feature of her face, from her dark red lips to her shining silver eyes.

But it wasn't just her beauty Philyra admired. It was her confidence, her strength, her unwillingness to do things she didn't think were right. She was a force of her own, capable of commanding legions, but also able to comfort and console. She was everything Philyra wished she could be. But it took a rare spirit to handle such a role, and Philyra was not at all suited for something like that. She would be content with being the sister—and what luck she had!—of such an awing creature.

In the kitchen was Felicia, sitting at the little table eating, as Philyra had smelled, porridge. Or something similar to it. She'd never seen porridge a dark blue color before. Maybe something was in it?

"Ah, you're awake. Did you sleep well?" Selene's sister—or, rather, almost sister, since she was betrothed to one of Selene's brothers—asked.

Philyra nodded.

"That's good. Why don't you get yourself some oatmeal? There's a stack of bowls on the counter. Just scoop yourself some, and feel free to add some berries or jam with the milk. I recommend the blueberries or strawberries, but Selene likes putting raspberry jam in hers." Felicia tilted her head in the direction of the stove, where a large metal pot sat, with a bunch of different things beside it on the counter. "But don't take too long to eat. Eric's coming to pick us up so we can go out."

Philyra smiled slightly in thanks before heading over to the stove. So it was the berries that changed the colors.

She put a scoop of the porridge into a bowl before turning to the small bowls of berries and jars of jam. There were so many choices, and while she didn't want to be greedy, she sort of wanted to put a little of everything in. After a moment's inner debate, she shrugged and did so.

She went and sat across from Felicia, who smiled when she saw the multicolors in Philyra's bowl. "See you took the everything route."

Philyra blushed, suddenly feeling like a glutton.

Something the woman in front of her seemed to sense. "Oh, it's perfectly fine. It's not like there isn't always enough. In fact, with this family, too much seems to be preferred when it comes to food. Because if it isn't eaten at the meal, we can be guaranteed Selene will finish it later." She winked, making the girl smile. "Besides, putting a little of everything in is exactly what Eric does. Of course, he normally takes at least three times what you have because boy, that man can eat. But what's almost sad is how Selene out-eats not only him, but everyone! We used to wonder where she could possible put it, seeing as she ate so much it was inhuman. I guess we know why now."

That drew a little giggle out of Philyra, which surprised her. She'd hadn't really ever laughed, not since she was very small. It was a nice feeling, this little sound that lightened the pressure she'd always felt upon her shoulders.

…. …. ….

"Okay, so I do have a few errands I need to run, picking up medical supplies and such. Since even _I_ find it dreadfully boring, I'm going to send you with Eric, to go look at pets. Selene demanded that we get you one." Felicia informed the girl sitting in the backseat. "But it's not going to be a normal one, but instead will be a familiar-bred. We're headed to a mall. It's not the nearest one, but this one has a mini-transfer station to a magical equivalent in Myula. Normally one would need a passport to transfer between the two, but things like this one are set up with certain spells that keep anyone who transfers over in the building. It's not the biggest one, but it's decent, and enough for our purposes. I'll be meeting back up with you two after that, and we'll go take a look at the magical conduction instruments store, to get you a wand, or whatever other tool the shopkeeper thinks would best allow you to use your magic. Okay?"

Philyra nodded and Felicia turned back to face out the front window of the car. Philyra was slowly getting more used to these weird horseless carriage things, even though the starting and stopping still startled her.

Eventually they pulled up to a large, busy building, parking towards the outskirts of the lot because most of the slots were taken. There were a _lot_ of people there. So many Philyra immediately started feeling nervous. But she got out of the car with the two adults. Felicia took her hand, saying it just wouldn't do to lose her, and set off, Eric in front of them, easily parting the crowds with his large stature and making it easier for the two females following him.

They trekked around to the back of the building, to a white door that was inconspicuously placed. While the front of the "mall" was bustling, the back was almost creepily empty. Felicia let go of Philyra's hand and went up to knock on the door.

"Arnold, you in there?" she called.

There was a thump before steps went to the door, and the sliding of a lock could be heard before the door opened, revealing an elderly man with grey hair. "Ah, Felicia, you're early. Running out of supplies faster than usual?"

Felicia smiled, "Only a little. I'm really here to take my new little sister shopping for a pet and a wand, though. Selene, who went ahead and adopted Philyra here into the family, insisted she have a familiar before going the two of them went back to her school. Philyra, this is Arnold. He runs the transfer station here."

"Nice to meet you, Philyra." Arnold said.

Philyra nodded in reply.

"Not the talkative sort, I take it?"

"She prefers quiet to noise." Felicia explained. "Now, mind if we make a transfer today?"

The old man nodded, "Not a problem. Just give me a minute to get her warmed up. But please, step inside while you wait. It's freezing out."

…. …. ….

After the transfer—which, as was explained to her, led to a market in Suron, a country to the southeast of Gedonelune, which is the country where the Six Ball (whatever that was) team Selene's brother Wade was in came from—Felicia went off on her own and Eric led Philyra in the opposite direction.

Neither of them said anything as they made their way to the pet store, named _Finch's Familiars_. They walked in, and Philyra wrinkled her nose at the smell. But only for a moment—the slave pens had smelled far worse.

But what caught her focus was the animals themselves, and Philyra couldn't help but run over and start looking. There were everything from rabbits to birds to dogs and cats—there was even a baby goat!

"I'll let you look around. Tell me if you see something you want, okay?" Eric smiled as the girl nodded, not turning away from the kitten she was petting.

She could choose any animal she wanted. Any of them! She wandered further back, and the animals got older or stranger, or both. Some were clearly magical, other's just no longer so young. It was sad they had to be in these cages for so long. Many of them were dozing, clearly bored.

"They do get exercise at night." Philyra jumped and nearly tumbled over, but a strong arm caught her and set her right on her feet again. "Sorry about that. I'm always getting scolded for not making noise when I move."

Philyra turned to see a boy, not much older than Selene, smiling sheepishly. He held out his hand, and Philyra hesitantly shook it. "I'm Warren. My uncle owns the shop. But as I was saying, they're not always cooped up. We've got a spell that changes where the front entrance of the store opens to, and at night we let them run around outside, which is why most are docile during the day. What might your name be?"

Philyra, in a split second decision, whispered her name.

"Pardon?"

"P-Philyra…" She said, a tad bit louder. Her voice was hoarse from misuse, and she hoped the handsome boy before her hadn't noticed. He wasn't a royal handsome like Klaus, or a smart-handsome like Merlin. Warren was the kind of boy one would see out hunting, a rugged sort of handsome. Dark hair and eyes, tanned skin, strong, but good-natured and friendly.

"Nice to meet you, Philyra. Now, are you looking for anything particular, or just looking around?"

She shrugged.

"Don't know, huh?" He seemed to just accept her quietness and act as if it was nothing of importance.

It was nice, Philyra thought, that Warren felt no need to make a big deal of it, and just went on treating her as if she was normal. It was really nice.

"Well, would you like some help?" he offered. "I know all the animals in here real good, if not personally then by their species."

She nodded, muttering a thank you.

Warren began leading her around the shop, explaining the ups and downs of various animals. "You'd probably _want_ a baby animal, but if it's your first time having a familiar, I'd recommend one of the older ones, because all of the ones we have, mostly, are trained and much easier to take care of than a youngin'. It's up to you, though." He explained.

It made sense to her, so she gravitated towards the back half of the pet part of the store (as the shop was divided between pets and pet products).

She looked among the animals and spotted a cat pacing back and forth in it's cage. It was an odd blue-black color, but the strangest thing about it was the fact that it had two tails instead of one. Philyra knelt down by the cage and the cat stopped pacing, instead looking directly at her. Most people would probably find it unnerving, but Philyra was just intrigued. It had two colored eyes. One a dark, deep blue, and the other a dark violet color.

"I see you've found Regis," Warren said. "He's a Nekomata, from an island country called Hinomoto. He was brought to us a few months ago by the daughter of his owner. Nekomata's are magical creatures greatly resembling cats, but with the obvious two tails. They live a lot longer than humans, how long I don't know. But they grow very attached to their owners, or at least this one did. He barely eats, and spends a lot of time pacing. The woman who brought him in apparently couldn't deal with such a strong reminder of her late father and dumped him with us. I'd feel bad for it if it hadn't tried to bite my fingers off when I tried get it to eat. It's a haughty little thing, and has scared the heck out of more than one potential owner. It's odd, though. He seems transfixed by you."

A man from somewhere else in the store called for Warren, who sighed. "That's my uncle. I'll come by in a bit, if you think you want Regis."

And with that Warren wandered off to see what his uncle wanted.

Philyra found herself fascinated by the ca-Nekomata. It was a beautiful creature, and it was so sad that it lost its owner.

' _Hello, halfling._ '

Philyra jumped, looking around. Other than the animals, no one was to be seen.

' _Spare me the "Oh, where did that come from?" crap. It's me, the Nekomata. As you know, my name is Regis. And yes, I'm speaking to you using a form of telepathic communication.'_

Philyra started at the cat-like creature before her, wide-eyed and unsure of what to do.

The thing almost seemed to smirk at her. ' _You don't talk much, do you? Whatever. You're here picking out a familiar, aren't you? You won't really find a better choice than me, you know. Not here at least. They don't have very many magical creatures, and none of the ones they do have aren't all that clever. So, what do you say? You seem to have interesting things happening around you, and it would be much better to be around you than stuck here in this cage as imbeciles gawk at me._ '

"You called me a 'halfling'?" Philyra said, her voice quiet as ever. "I'm human…"

' _Half human. If you were full human you wouldn't be able to hear my voice. Humans aren't smart enough to understand me when I speak. But you, you've got fae blood in your veins, and I can smell that you've been around a part-Elemental recently, too. That_ alone _is interesting,_ ' Regis said. ' _It's not like it's a big deal, being half human. I've come across a number of halflings. They're more common than most of the stupid humans think. They're usually pretty good at hiding themselves. In fact, it's usually the not-human halves that are the better halves._ '

 _He's a bit full of himself_ , Philyra thought, _very stuck-up. But he seems lonely, beneath it all. Maybe I should pick him? He's like I was. Not wanted because people are scared of him._

… _I'm choosing him. No one deserves such a lonely fate._


	13. Chapter 12

"No one deserves to be forgotten.

No one deserves to fade away.

No one should come and go...

No one deserves to disappear"

~Evan Hansen

* * *

Chapter 12—(68)

Philyra sat with Regis for a few more minutes, mostly listening to the creature, but occasionally giving a short, muttered reply. Eventually Warren came back, announcing his presence with an impressed whistle.

"Wow, you've been sitting with him for almost twenty minutes and he hasn't tried to scratch you or _anything_." Warren said. "Have you decided if you want the bugger or not?"

Philyra nodded.

"Okay then. Give me a few minutes. Are you paying or is a parent?"

"Older brother." She said, once again hoping the handsome boy didn't notice how rough her voice was.

Warren nodded, "Got it. Is he the big, quiet bloke that's been wandering the supplies?"

Another nod.

"I'll go get him and tell him, as well as recommend some supplies that would be appropriate for a cat. I suppose cat stuff would work for this fellow just as well as it would for a cat." Warren left, hands in his pockets as he whistled an upbeat tune.

' _Finally! This place is not only boring, but it smells like normal animals!_ ' Regis whined.

Philyra just sighed, not bothering to remind the Nekomata that he _was_ an animal, if not exactly normal.

…. …. ….

Initially Regis had attempted to sound all mystical, but by the second sentence he'd fallen into his uppity, snarky attitude that Philyra guess was his normal one. If anything, the commentary, while sometimes rude, was pretty amusing, if only because he reminded Philyra of the one friend she had before her father married Ilda. She hadn't thought of Jack for years, and while he had always been kind to her, knowing her home life and keeping it quiet that he was still her friend for her sake, his family had suddenly up and left about four years ago, when she was ten. Jack, too, had a snark to his humor that was unforgettable.

He, Regis, was currently in a cat carrier being carried by Eric, who carried a bag of supplies in his other hand. Eric had only let Philyra carry a smaller bag that contained only a few, lighter things. Philyra wasn't going to complain, though. She wasn't even sure if she would even be able to lift the larger bag, much less carry it about. The carrier she probably could have, but she was afraid of jostling Regis about too much.

"Oh, there you two are. What did you get?" Felicia came over from seemingly out of nowhere and crouched in front of the carrier, taking a look inside. "Oo, he's a fine cat. But is he magical? He has two tails."

"Nekomata," Eric said. "Not cat. And yes, I believe it is, if only a little."

' _I take offense to that!_ ' Regis pouted. ' _I am_ highly _magical, thank you! I just…don't use my magical abilities very often._ '

But of course, no one replied to it, and Philyra only smiled a little at the sulking creature's antics.

"Fascinating. But, on an unrelated note, we should get to the magic items shop. I forgot to mention that, other than getting something for Philyra, Selene gave me the halves of her broken wand, to see if it could be fixed." Felicia stood up. "Not that I'm sure it can be, seeing as it's not a normal wooden wand. But I'm no expert."

So the three—four, including Regis—set off to their next destination. They soon reached a shop called _Wick's Wands and Other Magical Conductors_. Eric said he'd wait outside with the animal, since it probably wasn't the best idea to bring it in. Philyra felt only the smallest bit of pity for Regis when he started whining that he wanted to go in, too, if only to make sure a proper magic conductor was chosen for his new master. He'd get over it soon enough, she hoped.

The smell of this shop reminded her of the room that had been her father's library. Dusty, a little musty, but generally well cared for. It was a little dim, compared to the bright lights outside the shop, but Philyra's eyes adjusted quickly. I'm working on stolen time here! Hurry up and figure out what to write, Authoress!

The room was filled with shelves containing all sorts of items. There were a lot of sticks—wands, Philyra thought. They were wands. Of all different kinds and colors and carvings.

"Another customer, I see. Who's looking for a tool today?" An ancient woman came walking out of the back. Well, she looked ancient, but moved as if she was much younger. "I am Madam Marena, the owner of this here shop."

"Pleasure to meet you, Madam. We're hearing looking for a tool for my sister, Philyra. We don't know what kind of magic she has, only that it's strong. Would you be able to help us?" Felicia asked. "I also have another question about a broken magic wand, but that can come second."

Madam Marena nodded, "Yes, yes I can. I can help her. Might I ask you, older sister, to step outside the stop? Sometimes finding the right object can result...in things flying around. I shall summon you back in when I am ready for you."

"Of course." Felicia turned to Philyra, "Are you okay with being in here by yourself?"

Philyra nodded, so Felicia took the bag from her and left, shutting the windowless door to the shop behind her.

She looked over at the old woman, unsure of what she should do. But the woman wasn't facing her, instead wandered further into the store, beckoning with her hand for Philyra to follow.

"I really asked her to step out because I could tell she doesn't know you are a halfling, child."

Philyra froze. First Regis, now this woman. The woman noticed she was no longer being followed and turned around, chuckling. "I take it you didn't know either. But it's easy for a halfling to learn how to sense another one of us." The woman, though very stern seeming at first, smiled so gently that Philyra immediately relaxed.

"Regis said I was one, too." Philyra whispered. Despite her age, Madam Marena seemed to hear her perfectly well.

"And who is this Regis? He certainly was correct."

"A Nekomata. We just got him from the animal store. He said I could hear his voice because I was a halfling." Philyra felt very at ease with this woman. It was so instinctual, the feeling that Madam could be trusted. It was like when she had first met Selene.

"Ah. Yes, those magical creatures are more clever than most would assume." Madam nodded. "If you would follow, we can find out what your fae-parent was, though not whom. Once I know that, I can guess as to what your magic can do, and most appropriately match a tool to you." Philyra nodded and followed Madam as she walked on, continuing to talk. "Most halflings truly only need a tool while they are learning to control their magic. It provides a way for it to be focused, and sometimes, if it's strong enough, contained. But unlike normal human magic, we do not always have to rely on tools to use our magic. It's part of why some fear those of fae-blood. Weak always fears strength it does not understand, child, and strong has a duty to protect weak, whether wear likes it or not. "

They stepped into a little room, in the back. There was a single table, with some sort of odd device in the center of it. "If you don't mind," Madam said. "I will need to draw a little blood, as blood is the least invasive way to test lineage. I can easily heal a prick."

Philyra nodded, carefully holding out her hand. A pricked finger is nothing compared to some of the wounds she had lived through. She didn't even wince when Madam used something similar to a sewing needle, only a little larger and made of something like glass, to prick her. It was hollow, too, as Philyra could watch a little bit of red filling it up. When Madam removed it, she waved her hand over Philyra's and the pressure of the prick disappeared from her forefinger.

Putting the needle in the device, making it start to hum, Madam continued talking. "My mother was of nymphic origin, dryad specifically. Tree fairy. I was raised with my father, however, who was a simple woodcarver. He had no magic, and I came to be when my mother fell in love with the way he could carve wood—never collected from a living tree, always from what he could find on the ground—in a way that was so lifelike you almost expected it to start moving about. I didn't see her often growing up. The fae rarely spent much time with halfling children. Do you think you might have any idea what your parent might have been?"

"I don't know. Only, it was my mother. I never knew her." Philyra found it so easy to speak with this woman. It was almost as easy as when she'd been in the magic-cancelling collar, back with Selene. She couldn't find it in her to be afraid of her voice doing something dangerous here, not where Madam Marena could fix it. "But the town I grew up in hated magic. It could get you killed."

"So it's in your voice, then? I noticed how quiet you are, especially around people. It's easier to talk with me, isn't it? Generally halflings find solace in one another, it's natural." Madam said, fiddling with some of the knobs on the device.

"Selene is a halfling," Philyra said. "She's the woman who took me in, saved me. She's my sister now. But she isn't fae."

Madam looked back at Philyra, confused. "You say she's a halfling, but not fae? Child, fae are the ones who create halflings. A halfling typically is a half-human, half-fae."

"Her father is an elemental."

Madam's eyes widened in surprise, before she turned back to the device. "That's quite unusual," she said. "Elementals generally hate humans, more than most fae. It's where the fae got their dislike of humans, from the elementals, their ancestors. I was under the impression that no human has seen one in centuries. But I suppose I could be wrong. I take it it's her wand that needs repairs?"

Philyra nodded, "Selene's father made it. But she's never met him."

Madam nodded thoughtfully, "Not sure how much I'll be able to do for a broken wand that wasn't made by a human or a halfling. But I can try." The machine on the table made a beep and a piece of paper fluttered out of it from somewhere. "Ah, your results." She scanned the paper for a moment, then held it out the Philyra. "Would you like to see it?"

The girl shifted nervously. "I-I can't...read…"

"Oh, alright then. Well, it says that your mother must have been a Siren."

Philyra furrowed her brow in confusion, "Like a bad mermaid?"

Madam laughed, "Oh no, though that is a common misconception. They're merely the most well-known of Siren, and they aren't all evil, no more than every person is evil. A Siren is merely a fae whose magic is in their voice and is controlled by them singing, though more powerful ones can do it merely by speaking with a melodic voice. They can be of any form: mer, flyer, earthborn, or flayme. Each conveys the sound differently, and it's most effective in their element. They're a less common sort of fae, and its somewhat unusual to find a Siren halfling. Your mother was flyer, meaning your magic will be best when you're above ground, and not in water. Flayme isn't something you come across too terribly often, and flyer is effective against it. The whole, take the oxygen, kill the flame, sort of thing."

 _Selene is fire. But she's wind, too. That doesn't work on her,_ Philyra thought. _She proved that back in Elementum._

"This means that a wand won't work well for you, though. I've only seen a few Siren halflings in my life, and none of their magic worked well with wands. You'll have more luck with a locket or an amulet. Let's see if we can find one that will suit you. Wait here and I'll go dig through the room where I keep the tools made specially for halflings."

As Madam left, Philyra's thoughts ran rampant. Her mother had been a Siren? She'd never known before now that a Siren was anything but the monster in the horror tales sailors would tell. She'd never given them much thought, but the idea that she was the daughter of something so...powerful? And it had been her voice causing all those strange things when she was small, which in turn caused Illda to treat her the way she had.

It was frightening. Terrifying. But somehow...it felt almost...right?

…. …. ….

"I'm afraid I've never seen anything like this. Nor do I know of any specialist tool makers who have successfully created a metal wand. And while it looks like it's made of silver, gold, and bronze, my own magic is telling me they aren't normal versions of those metals, or at least not a kind found in this world. I'm terribly sorry." Madam said, "And I don't know how safe it would be for the girl to go without a magic tool. Would you like me to take a look for one that may work? What does her magic focus around?"

"Fire," Felicia said, "Fire and wind, but her fire is stronger."

Madam nodded, "I shall be right back."

Philyra watched as Felicia gathered up the snapped remains of Selene's wand. Philyra herself was wearing a new necklace, an amulet made up of a stone called lapis lazuli embedded in a metal called palladium. The stone was a pretty dark blue color, with veins of more earthy colors, and the palladium almost looked like silver. It was lovely, the prettiest thing she'd ever owned, really. Madam had told her that, since she was going to the Gedonelune Royal Magic Academy, there would be someone who could teach her how to use it—Madam had even said she knew the teacher of the class that taught the fae-blood and fae-gifted, and that she'd send the teacher a message to help Philyra, as she was very far behind due to choices not her own. Philyra was extremely grateful for this.

"Here, this might work. It's hessonite garnet embedded in a ring of a type of rose gold. This breed of garnet works well with fire magic, as does the rose gold. Regular gold is stronger with fire, but rose gold is tempered in a way that gives it some wind-type tendencies. I figured it would work well for your sister," Madam said.

"How much?" Felicia asked. Madam told her the price, and it was almost twice as much as Philyra's amulet had.

Philyra felt a wave of guilt wash over her. She hadn't even been thinking of how much everything had been costing—between the new clothes and pet and tool, among other things, Selene's family must have spent a small fortune on her.

As Madam went to go put the ring in a case, Felicia tapped Philyra on the shoulder. Philyra looked up at the woman, who was smiling softly.

"You're worried about how much everyone has been spending on you, aren't you."

Philyra looked down, her face heating up.

"Don't be," Felicia said. "This family is far from poor, and none of us mind spending a bit on one of the newest additions to the family. Particularly since you've never had much to begin with. None of us care one whit how much it costs, only that we're giving you the things you need. So don't worry about it, okay?"

Philyra looked up, her eyes watering. Felicia pulled her in for a quick hug before going to follow Madam. "Why don't you go outside and wait with Eric? I'll be done in a moment and then we can drop you off at the house."

Philyra nodded, intensely grateful for whatever deity decided she suddenly deserved such blessings.

* * *

TheFallenHer0: I'm really glad you like Regis! He was kind of a spur of the moment addition, but I'm pretty pleased with how adding him turned out.


	14. Chapter 13

"I swear that

I'll be around for you.

I'll do whatever it takes.

I'll make a million mistakes.

I'll make the world safe and sound for you,"

~ Lin-Manuel Miranda

* * *

Chapter 13—(72)

Philyra was sitting in a train compartment. She wore nice, warm clothes, and sturdy boots. Around her neck was the lapis lazuli amulet and a pretty necklace Selene had given her for Midwinter—it was a pretty silver heart locket with the word " _Sister_ " engraved into the front. Or so Selene had told her. The pretty, swirling squiggles didn't mean much to Philyra. She'd barely started learning the Myulan alphabet, and the English alphabet meant nothing to her. There were papers for practicing her letters in the bag one of Selene's brothers had given her. She'd gotten so many Midwinter presents, it was almost too much. There was no way she'd ever be able to repay the March family and Selene for their kindness. And spirits know that all of them didn't expect her too—they'd all told her as much.

Regis was curled up in the seat by the window, to her immediate right. It was warm inside the train, despite the snow outside. Selene was relaxing across from Philyra, unwinding her scarf and taking off her incredibly thick coat. Philyra didn't mind the cold that much. She was used to it.

Philyra focused on petting Regis while the train began moving. She vaguely listened to Selene and Klaus' conversation, but it was inconsequential to her. From what she heard, Selene had a lot of work to do, and tests to take, and a few of Selene's classes were getting changed. Philyra had been told that she'd have all her classes with Selene, despite their age gap, so she was perfectly content.

' _You're so dependant on that mean half-elemental._ ' Regis sniffed, shifting his position into a more comfortable one, his two tails flicking as Philyra scratched a particularly nice spot.

 _Don't be rude,_ she thought back. _She's my sister. And she'll be the only one I know. And new people…they're scary…_

' _Toughen up! I can't have a wimp for a master!_ ' Regis whined.

A look from his aforementioned master quieted him.

"Well, whatever." Selene yawned. "I'm going to try and take a nap. I didn't sleep much last night. Philyra, hun, do you have your letters practice?"

The small, quiet girl nodded, pulling some of the papers out of her bag. Selene had been teaching her to read and write over the past week. It wasn't incredibly hard to learn to read, but the writing was a lot harder. Her hand simply wasn't used to making the symbols.

"Good." Selene nodded, satisfied. "Someone wake me when we're almost there." And with that she pulled her legs up on the seat and leaned on Klaus, who pulled out a book and started reading.

Philyra had a decent impression of the man. He was a little scary if you didn't know him (mostly because he was so tall and his resting face was one made him look mildly irritated), but very kind to people he seemed to like. He was always very nice to Philyra, and he treated Selene like she was a queen, despite the fact that the two loved to bicker. He was good for Philyra's sister. Selene seemed less…jittery with him around. She was happier when he was near. It was visible in her entire person. It brought back a little color into her cheeks.

And if Selene was happy, so was Philyra.

Philyra's brow furrowed as she mouthed the sounds to a word. She had decided to switch from writing practice to reading. Selene had given her a couple of children's books for practicing. They were very colorful, and the words were all fairly simple, but she still struggled with several of them. This particular one was odd, and she couldn't tell exactly how it would be pronounced.

"Would you like some help?"

Philyra looked up to see Klaus watching her. His sudden offer startled her a bit, but she nodded. She'd never be able to ask for help, but she was glad he offered it.

He shifted Selene off his lap, and carefully slipped her coat under her head. He moved to sit next to Philyra. "Which word are you stuck on?"

No offense to Selene, but Klaus was a much better teacher. Selene tried, but she wasn't all that helpful in comparison to her boyfriend. He actually knew how to teach.

Selene seemed to realize it, too, as she had woken up a couple minutes ago. She hadn't sat up, but just layed down, watching them. Philyra noticed her right away, because Regis made an annoyed noise, but Klaus hadn't. He was in full teaching mode. Philyra went back to paying attention to him and the lesson.

A few minutes later, Selene spoke up, startling Klaus. "Nice to know that you can teach nicely, dearest. Skies know you never do for me."

Klaus rolled his eyes. "You need the tough love."

"Maybe," she admitted. "But it would be nice if you lightened up about it once in a while. I'm actually a little scared to see how you'll be tomorrow when I start making up school work."

"Well, as long as you work well I won't scold you."

"I will work well if I am allowed the proper amount of breaks."

Philyra didn't mind that her lesson was forgotten as she watched her sister and Klaus bicker.

They were walking to this cafe Selene had sung praises of when someone said her name. She turned and grinned upon seeing the person.

It was a handsome black-haired boy (though it seemed to have hints of blue) with an eyepatch, standing with a girl just a little taller than Philyra. She was pretty, not like Selene, but in a younger, more sweet sort of way. She had kind brown eyes and long brunette hair tied up into twin tails. She was a little taller than Philyra, but definitely shorter than Selene.

And there was a wolf that stood next to the boy, grey in color. His stare unnerved Philyra, and Regis hissed a light warning towards it before curling tighter around Philyra's shoulders.

The boy—Yukiya, from Selene's reply—walked right up and gave Selene a hug.

"You're back," he said to Selene.

"I am," she replied, pulling back. "How've you been? And who's this cutie?"

"I'm Katalina," the girl said, smiling. "I'm Elias' buddy. I've heard a lot about you, so it's nice to actually meet you!"

Selene paused, then whirled to face Klaus. "Elias has a buddy."

"He does." Klaus looked at her. And the two proceeded to bicker.

It was fun to watch, Philyra thought. Katalina seemed confused by the exchanges, but Yukiya, though his face was blank, had an amused sparkle in his eye.

"That's it." Selene declared. "We're done. I get the children. Bye!" She linked arms with Philyra and Katalina and started to walk away. "Now, children, how do you feel about getting some of the best donuts ever?"

Philyra decided that she liked Katalina. The girl was very bubbly, very cheerful, and very kind. She very quickly, however, was pulled into a conversation with a curious Selene.

"I've never seen a nekomata in person."

Philyra nearly jumped out of her seat, making Regis whine in irritation. She looked up, and saw it was Yukiya who'd spoken.

"What's it's name?" Yukiya asked.

Philyra glanced at Regis, unsure of what to do, but he just yawned and flicked his tail once. How incredibly helpful.

She inhaled. "Regis."

"Boy, then?"

"Yes."

"Did you get him recently?"

"Yes."

"Does he have any magical abilities?"

Philyra shrugged.

' _I do. But I'm not going to tell you._ ' Regis snarked.

Philyra gave him a look, silently telling him to be nice.

Yukiya's eye went wide for a moment and then he returned to normal with a shrug. "A talking cat isn't the weirdest thing to happen lately."

Philyra tilted her head. She'd seen odd things lately, too.

Communicating with Yukiya was so incredibly easy. Other than with Selene, Philyra had never felt so comfortable in a conversation, but unlike Selene, she didn't have to say much, and neither did he. They had a mutual understanding of what the other said without saying a word most of the time. It was wonderful. Other than the occasional interruption from Regis, the conversation went smoothly.

They didn't talk much of themselves, but instead of others. From him, she learned about the classes he was in, his roommate (Klaus' younger brother), and the buddy system. She, in return, told him a bit about what she'd learned about Selene's family, and bits of what had happened from the time she met Selene. She shared a lot about Selene.

Philyra hadn't noticed just how long the conversation went on until Selene spoke, having already piled up all the things left on the table. "Yukiya, would you mind if Lyra went with you and Katalina? I've got some things to sort out with the headmaster, and there's no need for Lyra to meet him yet. She'd be bored."

Philyra's eyes widened. She had not been expecting that. Selene was going to leave her with new people? She liked Yukiya and Katalina thus far but she wasn't sure she was ready to be around them without Selene.

But at the inquiry from Selene, Yukiya nodded, and Katalina beamed, turning to Philyra.

"We'll have so much fun, Philyra!" she exclaimed. "It's my first time in the town, too, other than when I arrived, but I didn't get to look around then. Yukiya is showing me around, but it would be lots of fun to have you join!"

"Do you want to come?" Yukiya asked, turning to Philyra. "It is up to you."

"That's right, Lyra," Selene smiled. "It's up to you. But it's not going to be interesting. And I promise you'd be safe with these two. If anything, I'm sure Sir Regis could fight anyone who you find you don't like."

' _That's right!_ ' Regis sat up, looking the picture of a smug kitten. Philyra resisted the urge to shake her head at him.

"He said, 'That's right!' by the way," Katalina said, looking at Selene..

"I know," the short haired girl replied. "He's actually a creature I can hear. Something about my blood."

Philyra was glad for the tangent, however small. She wasn't sure if she wanted to go with the new people, no matter how nice they seemed. But Selene seemed to trust them, and if anything, maybe it means that Selene and Klaus would get a little alone time once their meeting was over—they hadn't gotten much of that back at Selene's house.

"So how about it, Lyra? You want to go with them?"

Philyra nodded, rubbing Regis' ear. At least he'd be with her the entire time.

* * *

TheFallenHer0: Yeah, I needed a character who would be talented in breaking awkward silences when I didn't have a clue how to proceed. Regis is fun, and very useful. And yes. There are lots of halflings coming up in the (fairly near) future. And I'm glad you think Philyra is sweet. She's a smol adorable who needs to be protected from all harm. She's the type of person I'd mother the heck out of.


	15. Chapter 14

"But still we laugh, we cry, we fall, we get high.

Just like we were kids, just like we were kids.

And when I'm feeling small, you get me through it all.

Just like we were kids, just like we were kids again."

~ Artist and Poet

(also note: the song—"Kids Again"—is 100% the theme song for Marelda and Luca)

* * *

Chapter 14—(75)

Before leaving the cafe with Selene, Klaus slipped Philyra a bag a coins and a whisper to have fun. It was unexpected. She knew Klaus liked her well enough, but not enough to just give her spending money. She was pretty sure, from the weight of the bag, that it held more money than she'd ever handled. _Not that she'd ever handled much money in the first place._ But still.

She was just thankful that Katalina was a talkative girl. It meant she didn't have to talk, just nod occasionally. Yukiya tailed the two, his wolf next to him. Regis kept himself firmly perched on her shoulders, giving the wolf distrustful looks until he eventually slipped away, privately (to Philyra alone) claiming Katalina talked way too much for him to want to stick around. Philyra wasn't sure why Regis was so suspicious of the wolf, and he wouldn't tell her.

"I absolutely _love_ your hair, Philyra. It's so pretty! And I've never seen haircut like this, all different lengths. It's really cool. I don't have the nerve to cut my hair, which is why it's so long. But Selene's hair! It's so short! I've never seen such short hair on a girl, but it actually really suits her. I guess she's cut it more recently, because when Elias described her, he said her hair was long and blonde. Now it's short, with this bronzish sheen. I guess that's because of Angel, maybe. Either way, it's really cool."

And so on and so forth. Yukiya pointed out little stores and stands he recommended, and Katalina pulled them to all sorts of places. The girl was so high energy, it made Philyra dizzy. She was used to Selene's randomness, but Selene didn't chatter so much or run around so erratically.

While Katalina was ogling some shiny things in a window display, Yukiya tapped Philyra's shoulder, making her jump. She glanced up through her bangs at him.

"You're tired," he said quietly.

Her eyes widened slightly. How did he know? She knew she was really good at appearing better than she felt…but how?

"You're starting to trail behind more. And drag your feet." And yet Yukiya said his observations as if they were obvious. "We can go back, I'm tired, too. Are you okay with going back?"

She nodded, still unsure of how to react to his perception. Selene had told her he was really good at seeing things as they are, but she didn't expect this.

He nodded in reply. "Katalina."

The girl turned back to her darker haired companions. "Yeah?"

"Time to go back."

"Oh. Okay. Can we at least get ice cream at Iceia's before we go? Elias mentioned it and I really want to try."

Yukiya looked at Philyra, who just tilted her head in confusion.

"Do you know what it is?" Yukiya asked, seeming unsurprised when she shook her head. "Thought not. Selene doesn't like it." Meaning Selene probably wouldn't have ever brought it up. "It's frozen, flavored cream. It's good."

Philyra nodded.

"This'll be so much fun! Oo, I wonder what kind of flavor you'll like best! I wonder what flavors they have. Probably all the standard ones, but what interesting ones? My favorite at the shop back home was called 'Strawberry Switch', and it had little chunks of strawberry and caramel. You seem like a caramel kind of girl, Philyra. I don't know though. What do you like best Yukiya? Elias said he liked the brownie one best."

"Caramel Apple Pie."

"Oo, that sounds really yummy. There it is!" Katalina ran excitedly into the ice cream shop. Yukiya help the door open for Philyra, walking in behind her.

They ordered, Yukiya ordering the one Philyra guestured at for her (she ended up choosing what Yukiya got), and then he paid for all three of them before they could do it themselves. "My treat." was all he said.

Philyra got the little bowl, with it's little spoon. She tried a little bit of it, and it was _cold_. But it tasted so _good_. She ate it in little bites, glad she got a bowl instead of the "cone" Katalina had. Even in the cool air, it started dripping onto her hand as the brunette frantically tried to keep up with it.

It was a bit chilly out, but it wasn't terrible. Philyra wasn't nearly so sensitive to the cold as Selene. She quite liked it, she found. A lot more than she used to. It was a lot colder back in Liloorlie.

She cringed slightly. Why did that always _that place_ have to pop up everytime she was happy? It always brought back a slew of awful things.

There was a tap on her shoulder, making her jump. But it was only Yukiya, and her pulse slowed.

"What's wrong?" he asked. All he got was a shrug. He seemed to sense she didn't want to talk about it and let it drop.

She'd noticed this about him. Philyra didn't have to say a word to him, but he usually seemed to be able to tell what she "said," noticing the smallest of details. It was so easy to be around him, almost easier than Selene.

She pushed away that thought. Selene was better than anyone else, always.

But, even this soon, Yukiya might be a close second.

The next week was lots of work. More work than she'd ever had to do before. While Selene was mostly independant in her "game of catch-up," Klaus was instructing Philyra personally on various subjects, in particular, her writing and reading. She liked the reading well enough but the _writing_ was just so hard. Philyra's favorite part was the maths. Numbers made more sense than the letters (she chose to ignore Selene when she piped up to say that advanced maths was more letters than numbers, because she was pretty sure Selene was just joking). And when they finished with maths, Klaus would teach her about magic.

This part made her squirm inside, but she didn't want to make Klaus mad by not paying attention. He took so much time to be teaching her, she didn't want him to think she took it for granted. It got easier as the days went on. After all, the theory seemed to be okay, and he wasn't actually making her do magic (he said that the actual teachers would help her with that when school started again, which she wasn't at all looking forward to).

What scared her more than that was Selene's frustration with her magic. She was struggling too much with her wind and fire. Klaus told her that Selene used to have unbelievable control over fire, more than anyone Klaus had ever seen previously, and that her wind used to be decently easy for her to manage. Now, she had to keep intense focus to do simple things. Not because the magic wasn't there, but because if she wasn't extremely careful, she'd lose control.

Philyra saw it happen a few times over the course of a week with Selene's wind. The older girl refused to use her fire unless at least a few adults and Klaus were there to stop it from spreading too far if she lost control of it—if the wind was difficult to contain, Selene commented, the fire was near impossible. It'd been easier in Terra, she said, when there wasn't so much natural magic to feed it. In Terra the wind listened, the fire behaved if you kept a very close eye on it. That wasn't the case in Myula.

As for the rest of Selene's magic? Not working at all. Without the seal that her old wand had, Klaus theorized, the elemental magic was overwhelming the human magic, preventing Selene from using it. All this just further implanted the idea that magic was nothing but trouble into Philyra's subconscious.

On another note, Katalina, for whatever reason, seemed to really like Philyra. She appeared with Yukiya to pull her away for lunch most days. Philyra ate breakfast with Selene (who was an early riser), lunch with the aforementioned two, and dinner with everyone. She quite liked these parts. Mostly, they all let her just listen to the conversations, and only rarely made her join. Normally, if she had to say more than a few words, Regis would convey them for her, which was really nice of him. Philyra was pretty sure the biggest reason he did it is because she'd sneak him bits of her food, but either way it was appreciated.

"Philyra!" Katalina knocked on the open door of Klaus' office. "Mr. Prefect, sir, can we kidnap her for lunch? Yukiya is making something, and while he hasn't told me what it is, it's bound to be good because he's really good with food."

Klaus sighed. "I suppose. Selene should be finishing up soon, so I'll probably be taking her to get lunch, so keep Philyra a little longer today. We can work on lessons again tomorrow."

Katalina beamed. "Sweet! Come on, Lyra!"

She cleaned up her papers before nodding to Klaus as she headed to the door. As Philyra followed, the brunette chattered on about everything that had happened since dinner. Apparently she actually finished her homework, and gotten a letter from Elias, Klaus' younger brother and Katalina's buddy. She was super excited about that, and told Philyra of all the things he'd written. While Katalina had a tendency to talk so fast Philyra's head spun, she enjoyed listening to the girl. Before Katalina, she'd never once interacted with a girl her own age, at least, not in a positive way.

The girls back in Liloorlie tended to mock and say quite nasty things about Philyra when ever she was spotted. They were far meaner than any of the boys, though the boys tended to be more vulgar. The girls were harder to ignore, and more creative with their taunts.

"I love it when Yukiya cooks! It's always sooooo yummy!" Katalina gushed. "I mean, even Elias admits it, and he's 'emotionally constipated' half the time, to quote Luca." The girl giggled. "He's honestly not a bad guy, though he likes to play-pretend he is. Oh, do you know who Luca is? I don't know if Selene's told you about him or not."

Philyra nodded.

"Well, Luca's been showing up to class a lot more. I think it's because his buddy makes him. It's really interesting, having a buddy. I asked him about her once, the other week. I haven't seen her, but apparently she's a redhead of sorts, really tall, and training to be a warrior. Luca says she's great, but not someone to mess with. I'm not sure if he's telling the truth about this, but he claims he once did something really stupid and she punched him so hard he was knocked unconscious. I mean, he didn't have a black eye or anything on his face, but he could've gone to the nurse. But then again, the nurse prefers to let things heal naturally when they can so I don't know why she would've completely healed it. Either way, anyone who can whip Luca into shape is impressive. I mean, I don't think he missed a single class the last week of school! Not even Selene, according to Elias, could wrangle him into going to every class. I both want to meet her, and don't. I don't know. I suppose I shouldn't form opinions until I meet someone. Elias says that's not good. Which is hypocritical of him since he does it, but he's also trying to work on not doing that so I suppose he's right."

Katalina could talk until the world ended, Philyra thought. She didn't mind it much, though.

Lunch was amazing, and afterwards, Selene showed up singing and dancing, clearly excited about having caught up with school and other things she wasn't going to elaborating upon. In tow was the youngest of her older brothers, Merlin. After Eric, Merlin was probably Philyra's favorite of Selene's brothers.

Philyra most certainly considered Selene her older sister, but she had a hard time thinking of Selene's older brothers as anything but Selene's older brothers. Not hers. They were all very kind and welcoming, but Philyra just…couldn't. She couldn't even think of a reason, she just couldn't. It didn't make sense, but she couldn't bring herself to include any people in her true circle. It consisted of Selene and Regis. There were several in the outer circle, like Selene's brothers, Katalina, Yukiya, and Klaus—but only her sister and Regis were in her family.

Selene wrangled Philyra, Yukiya, and Katalina into making Cherry Pie Cookies with her. Half the time she was talking to Merlin in English, but it was okay. Philyra was happy about learning the recipe, particularly with Yukiya helping her and keeping her from messing up too much. She tried one of these kind of cookies back in Terra, and she adored them. Now, she knew how to make them and it was wonderful.

* * *

No reviews for last chapter, but there is a little authors note. Just generally, I'm struggling with this story. I don't know if it'll get easier as the story goes on, but generally this third person thing is killing me. I am incredibly sorry if this story gets dull and seems really repetitive of Elemental.


	16. Discontinuation Notice

Hey everyone. I'm sorry to say it, but Cursed is being discontinued. It's been too close to Elemental, but less fun and in a POV I struggle to write in. It's just...not working. For the publishing purposes of Elemental, I actually took a majority of the first few chapters of Cursed (pre-Selene) and combined them to make one longer chapter for Elemental. (If you read the posting for Halfling on Monday, you'll see the chapter I wrote for the last draft of Elemental for Tomiji (aka Yukiya) that is sort of a compliment to Philyra's backstory and stands mostly alone).

So, while I regret that Cursed is being discontinued, I will be finishing up Halfling and Warrior. However, they'll have different endings than the version posted for , because I have different ideas as to where to take them than what would make sense for the version being written for here. But they will be finished here, have no fear!


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